MAJCK
by Flighty Wren
Summary: "C'mon, Grandma, we can't be a team. The only thing we have in common is that none of us saw this coming." Thrust into a new world five girls must face the responsibilities of being the new Guardians of the Veil.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N Okay, so this is a story I've been working on for what seems like forever. I had to rework some parts but I think it's finally ready to be read. Anyway, this is set about fifty or so years after the W.I.T.C.H girls were around and is the story of the next generation of guardians. Also, I've based its history off the stuff in the TV series so please don't yell at me for getting facts wrong if I do. Please be nice, this is my first W.I.T.C.H fan fic._

The hub of the airport around her was soothing in a way. The noise was such a large contrast to the quiet house she'd spent the last few days in that it made her think that things were almost normal again. Almost. The noise of people coming and going on their late night flights was not enough to completely erase the knowledge that things were different now. Jordyn sighed as she pushed a hand through her hair, spiked and black with the ends dyed electric blue. Once again she looked around the terminal before going back to watching the people around her, waiting for their luggage, greeting long lost family members, saying teary goodbyes. She was bored. The iPod in her pocket wasn't an option. She wasn't in the mood for the blaring music on it. For the first time in her life she longed for the classical music her mother used to play around the house, music she'd always despised.

Jordyn was waiting for someone and had been for almost an hour. It was almost midnight and her ride still wasn't there yet. She supposed that it was her fault for not getting someone aside from her _grandmother_ to pick her up at the airport but she didn't know anyone else in Heatherfield so that was that. She wasn't even sure she knew what she looked like. The last time she'd seen the woman was when she was four. She and her parents had lived in Seattle, which was a good distance from her father's parents' home in Heatherfield and they didn't see them often. And after her dad had died her mom had cut all ties with them. All Jordyn could remember about her grandmother was that they had the same color eyes, a sort of walnut color that looked reddish in the right light. And apparently she was a bit of a scatterbrain though that could have been because of the late hour at which Jordyn's flight had gotten in. Still it would have been nice to have been picked up right away and to be at her grandmother's house by now . . .

"Jordyn?" She tore her eyes away from a cute guy that was reading a book and turned them to an elderly woman that was holding a purse almost as big as she was. She had short straight white hair and wrinkled skin but her eyes were young and bright, smiling though her expression was inquisitive. Yep, that was her grandma.

"That's me." She said, getting to her feet and grabbing her bags. She shouldered her backpack and duffle bag and grabbed her rolling suitcase.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, dear, I got talking with an old friend and lost track of time." Of course she had.

"That's okay. I haven't been here too long." Her grandmother laughed as they started towards the terminal's doors.

"Of course you have. Your plane landed an hour ago." She said with a wave of her hand. "Let's get going, though; I've got Chinese food waiting at home." Jordyn's stomach grumbled at the thought of food. "You can meet your grandpa tomorrow, hon."

The ride to her grandparents' house was tense and Jordyn spent it trying not to toss her cookies. She hated driving, always opting to walk or bike if given the opportunity, and her grandmother's way of hugging the curves and stopping and starting suddenly left much to be desired. Jordyn was sure if she spoke it would come out sounding nothing like any language from Earth. Eventually the car pulled up to a small house and stopped. Her stomach twisted nervously as she stared up at the house while her grandma got out and went around to get her door for her—it didn't open from the inside for some reason. With the door open the elder woman started for the house while Jordyn got her bags and shut and locked the car. Jordyn paused on the porch, just outside the doorframe, staring into the front hall of the house like it was about to attack her. She didn't want to go inside. If she did that would mean it was all over. Her mother, her father, her old life. It would end the second she set foot in that house, no matter how wonderful her grandparents were. But she needed to move on, even if it was slowly. She took the last step and entered the house as the sound of a microwave being turned on reached her ears.

"That sounds good." She muttered under her breath as she left her stuff in the living room and moved towards the kitchen.

"Oh, be nice to her." She heard her grandmother say. "I know you like to not heat things the way through but she's having a difficult time." Jordyn stepped into the kitchen to see her grandma facing the microwave, talking to it fondly.

"Grandma, you okay?" She jumped, turning away from the microwave with a shaky smile.

"Yes, just talking to myself, dear." She said absently, running a gnarled hand through her hair. Jordyn looked at the microwave, half expecting it to start talking, but let it go, turning to the already warm bowl of beef and broccoli.

"Uh, Grandma, I just wanted to let you know that I'm allergic to walnuts." She said as she sat down, taking the fork her grandma offered and digging into the food. Her grandmother nodded, turning back to the microwave, shaking or nodding her head every so often like it was asking her questions.

The silence returned as they ate and it wasn't until Jordyn had gone through a bowl of the beef and broccoli, two boxes of fried rice, and a container of chicken noodle soup that her grandma spoke.

"Jordyn, you do know that your grandfather and I love you, right?" Jordyn paused, her spoon hanging out of her mouth, and then nodded. She smiled, nodding absently in response. "Your mother was upset when Rick died, you know. We tried to help her, we wanted to fly out and see you again after the funeral, but she wouldn't let us." Jordyn put her spook down slowly. "Do you even remember what our names are, dear?" Jordyn thought back and blushed, shaking her head sheepishly as she realized they'd always been referred to as "Daddy's parents" or "oh, them? no one" by her mother. "Will and Matt Olsen, dear." Her grandma supplied with a short chuckle. Jordyn gave her a small smile.

"Okay, Grandma." She said shyly.

"You know, Jordyn, you're only supposed to have so many holes in your head." Will joked, indicating Jordyn's facial piercings. Eyebrow, nose, and her ears from her lobes to her cartilage were pierced with studs. Jordyn found little rings flimsy looking and stupid. Studs were a lot more sturdy and easier to see on cluttered dresser tops. "I think they look nice." Jordyn responded by running a hand through her hair and staring off in any direction but Will's. "Anyway, you'd better get to bed, hon. You aren't going to be enrolled until sometime next week but I'm putting the presence of a young person to use. You'll be getting up at eight to help me out with the garden and then you can go on over to my friend's restaurant. She says she's got a job for you. It'll do you good to earn your own money." She got up then and left an indignant and dumbfounded Jordyn at the kitchen table.

What? A job? She had to be kidding. Jordyn sat at the table, fuming, for a few minutes before she stalked upstairs, snooping a bit before she found her new room. A job, who did she think she was? She was only thirteen, surely she was too young for a job. Okay, so she was turning fourteen in three weeks but that wasn't the point. This had to be illegal, child labor and all that. Her anger bubbled higher and higher as she got ready for bed and crawled under the black bedding on the bed in her room. At least they matched her tastes. But what was she going to do about that job? And chores? Grandma Will _had_ to be kidding.

—

"Kids, come on wake up, you're going to be late!" Mrs. Lyndon yelled, pounding on her children's bedroom doors as she passed. "I made breakfast and it isn't going to stay warm forever. Come on, everybody up!" She stopped at the last door before the stairs and knocked a bit more quietly before sticking her head in. "Wakie, wakie, McKenzie. Breakfast is ready." The lump on the bed groaned, moving a bit before going still. "I've got water and I'm not afraid to use it, missy." The lump slowly rose into a sitting position, still groaning. "I let you sleep in fifteen minutes, McKenzie; I don't want to hear any more groaning." She said firmly, leaving and shutting the door behind her.

Alone in her dark room McKenzie made a soft grumbling noise, pushing her wild, curly red hair out of her face. If anyone asked she would say she was a member of the Lyndon family because, after living with them for almost a month, she was. Despite the obvious difference in appearance—the Lyndon family was primarily Oriental with a few differences in eye color from Mr. Lyndon's dad's side of the family while McKenzie was a full-blooded Irish girl—they were incredibly close and more like a family than McKenzie's parents and her had ever been. But in reality she was an exchange student from Ireland where she had lived with her cousin after her parents had gotten a divorce, neither of them wanting anything to do with her. She'd pounced at the chance to get out of the country, even if it was only until the end of the semester in two months. She talked to the Lyndon's daughter, Mei, who had switched with her, a lot and they were really great friends and couldn't wait until they could meet in person. And she loved the Lyndon family.

The twins, Genji and Chang, ran down the hall, screaming that the youngest child, Tyler, had wet the bed again. Okay, so she loved them in the afternoon, when their thunderous noise wasn't quite as jarring. McKenzie giggled as she pulled a pair of jeans on, in a hurry to get to the table before everyone else had already gotten food. The Lyndon family had three boys and four girls including Mei, who was the oldest at fourteen, and it was hard to get food in the morning, especially when Mrs. Lyndon only had so much time to make breakfast before she had to go downstairs and open the restaurant, the Silver Dragon, which had been in the family for four generations. McKenzie usually ended up getting the younger kids ready for school and making sure they made it to the bus stop. Mr. Lyndon was almost always away on business trips—he was a salesman for some kind of electronic company or something—so he wasn't any help, even on the mornings he was there.

"Kenzie, where's my shoes?" Genji asked loudly as McKenzie buttered some toast, keeping an eye on Tyler as he ate his Cheerios one by one, taking gulps from his sippy cup every so often. He was two and a half and could eat on his own but not with a spoon quite yet.

"Um," she said through a mouthful of toast, looking around for Genji's Ariel sneakers. She was obsessed with the Disney princesses at the moment and her things—shoes, backpack, pencil case, shirts, blankets, pillows, sheets, whatever else one could fit a logo on—displayed this love loudly and colorfully. Finally McKenzie spotted the girl's sneakers peeking out from under the couch in the living room. "Under the couch, Genji." She finally said after swallowing her toast.

After breakfast was eaten and everyone was dressed, had brushed their hair and teeth, and had their homework in their bags McKenzie herded the kids downstairs. Mrs. Lyndon took Tyler to pre-K while McKenzie walked those already in public school to their respective bus stops. She wished them a good day and then continued on her way to her bus stop, half-skipping as she went. It was a beautiful day after all. The sun was out, a wonderful breeze was blowing, and it wasn't too warm, unlike the past few days that had been positively sweltering compared to what she was used to in Ireland. She hummed softly as she bounced up to her bus stop, her curls springing on her shoulders. The others at the stop gave her half-smiles having gotten used to her overly cheerful attitude in the past months, knowing that if they didn't acknowledge her presence she'd make a point of chirpily saying good morning to all of them.

She was full out singing—under her breath of course, but still loud enough to catch the attention of the others waiting with her for the bus—when the bus chugged up to the stop, paused, and opened its doors. She bounded up the stairs and quickly moved towards the back where her best friend Katie was sitting with one of her other friends, Chloe. McKenzie didn't know Chloe well but she could always spare a smile for the blonde.

"Good—" She started happily as she sat down next to Katie before a hand was clapped to her mouth, muffling the rest of her greeting. The girl—Katie that is, not McKenzie—had caked the black eye shadow and eyeliner on especially thick today, a sign she wasn't in a good mood.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." She growled dangerously, her black-nailed hand still clamped over the perky Irish girl's mouth. McKenzie was still talking, her voice muffled by Katie's hand but not silenced. Her grip on McKenzie's mouth tightened. "Not one more word." She hissed, hazel eyes flashing dangerously. McKenzie smiled under her hand and nodded, obviously not fazed by Katie's less than enthusiasm for the early morning. Satisfied with McKenzie's silent promise to be quiet she pulled back and turned to talk to Chloe, who was fretting over a project.

"But what if I pick something that I think I can finish but when the time comes I can't even think of anything to do?" She asked Katie nervously as the bus thundered away from its last stop and towards the school.

"Trust me, if anyone can finish a project, you can. You worry too much." Chloe bit her lip, looking out the window. Katie sighed heavily, not wanting to waste her barely-there energy on a clearly lost cause.

"Hey, did y' guys hear? There's a new girl startin' next week." McKenzie said as they got off the bus a few minutes later.

"_Heard?_ My grandma wants me to make nice with her." Chloe complained. "She's the granddaughter of a friend apparently." She brushed her hair out of her face absently, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as they pulled together.

"Well, we can _all_ make nice with her then. It'll be fun!" McKenzie insisted, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. Katie rolled her eyes.

"Last time _I_ checked I wasn't signed up for the welcoming committee." Her slightly raspy voice tried and failed to cut through McKenzie's excitement as they walked towards the school's main entrance.

"Yeah, 'cause I signed y' up yesterday when I found out about the new girl." Katie groaned.

"You are a dead girl." She growled, reaching for McKenzie, who lightly danced out of the way. "There ain't no way I'm going to be the annoyingly peppy meet-and-greet that gets her gym clothes flushed down the toilet." McKenzie giggled as she grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and pulled the pixie-sized blonde between them.

"Oh, y're no fun." She complained lightly, still gripping Chloe's shoulders.

"I'm not paid to have fun." Katie said dryly, finally giving up on trying to catch her friend.

"But it'd be wicked fun, please?" McKenzie's eyes got all wide and Katie rolled her eyes, huffing as she continued towards the entrance.

"You'd better get in contact with the welcoming committee and tell them they've got one less member."

—

"All aboard the Sheffield Express!" A loud voice blared from the PA system of Sheffield Institute, causing several students to jump. "My name's Amber Holt and I'll be your conductor on this train wreck we call school today." Amber was halfway out of her chair in the broadcasting station, her mouth centimeters from the microphone. "Don't worry, though, if things get a little crazy we've still got the emergency brakes!" She laughed for a moment before continuing with her report. "You'd better get those late passes for your sixth period class signed now ladies and gentlemen. Today's lunch is lasagna and for those of you sticking around for it the nurse's station is two doors down from the principal's office on the right." She paused for a moment, pushing her dark brown bangs behind her ear before continuing. "Also, there's a signup sheet outside Mrs. Renolds' History room for all seniors interested in the week long field trip to Washington D.C. Yes, parental consent is mandatory and according to Mrs. Renolds she is still looking for parents to volunteer to be chaperones. Better not tell them about that, though, until after the buses have pulled away from the school." Amber sat back in her chair, letting it roll away from the table for a moment before pulling herself back. "Homecoming is next week so break out those cocktail dresses, people. All those interested in helping with decorations or volunteering for the carnival, please see the head of the Art Department, Mr. Mendez. Also on next month's agenda is the Halloween Masquerade Ball coming up in a little over three weeks. We'll get back to that later but we are going to be looking for volunteers to help set up decorations. Anyway, let's go to Lionel for the weather. Lionel?" A freshman wearing thick glasses, a sweater vest, and one of the saddest haircuts Amber had ever seen in her life leaned towards his microphone in the room on the other side of the glass, reading the weather report off his phone.

"Today's looking sunny side up, Sheffield, with the temperatures in the mid seventies so you can retire your jackets to your lockers for another day. This report is brought to you by and yours truly. Now to Ursula for the latest updates on local gossip." That was Amber's cue to leave. She turned off her mic and got up, grabbing her bag from where she'd stashed it under the table.

"See you later." She whispered as she peeked into the room Lionel was in, a huge smile on her face. He looked up at her with an answering grin.

"Hey, you'll talk to Katie for me today, right?" He asked nervously, speaking quietly so Ursula—called the Sea Witch by most of Sheffield's students—wouldn't hear.

"I'll try but you know her. She doesn't give people like me the time of day." He made a face, understanding.

"Yeah, well, good luck." He was a bit more forlorn as he turned back to the board of switches and knobs in front of him.

"Thanks, I'll need it." She gave a small wave before she ducked out of the room and took off sprinting down the hall, desperate to get to homeroom before the bell rang. Her hair, pulled into two short braids, slapped her neck and shoulders as she ran through the halls, dodging annoyed students and teachers.

"Holt," she slid into her chair just as the teacher called her name.

"Here," she gasped, leaning forward on her desk. Professor Thorp pursed her lips but checked her off as present instead of tardy. She panted quietly against her desk as attendance continued and then the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang and she was left to run to her first class, science with Applegate, which was on the other side of the building.

"Miss Holt, you're late again." Mr. Applegate had a pension for the obvious. Amber groaned as her head fell to the tabletop in front of her.

"Mr. Applegate, my homeroom class is on the other side of the building." She offered weakly, trying to catch her breath. Mr. Applegate's thick mustache seemed to bristle as he gave her a sharp look.

"That's no excuse, Miss Holt. Here's your pass to the principal's office." Amber groaned, grabbing her bag as she got up and went to the front of the room to get the pass he handed her. This was the tenth time this month she'd been late for his class and it wasn't even October yet.

When Amber got to Principal Wuebber's office two people were sitting outside it, both of them regulars that each had files at least six inches thick. One was Zach Milda and the other was a girl Amber recognized as Katie Martinez. The girl had a pack of ice on her knuckles and the beginnings of a fat lip. Man, first period and she'd already gotten in a fight. Amber sat down next to Katie, who gave her a sharp glare as warning that she wasn't in the mood to be talked to. Unfortunately Amber didn't have as much of a sense of self-preservation as Katie expected her to.

"Hi, I'm Amber." She said in a half-shy-half-friendly way. Katie's glare hardened, her hazel eyes looking like rocks.

"Yeah and I'm Katie. I know you, you know me, so shut up and stop trying to earn yourself a black eye." She sounded bored but the threat was real. After all, she'd already gotten into a fight with the bozo sitting next to her, taking out the class clown would be a walk in the park.

"Yeah, but you don't know Lionel." She persisted, uncaring at the growing chances that she'd soon be sporting a mark of Katie's quickly ignited temper. Amber could tell she'd confused the older girl and she hoped she would stay that way until she'd finished talking. "He's in your algebra class," Katie obviously had no idea who she was talking about and was getting annoyed, "tall, gangly, incredibly awkward, ridiculously huge glasses?" Katie's eyes flashed with recognition and then annoyance and she turned away from Amber, letting out a rough huff.

"If he sent you to talk to me you're wasting your time. I'm not taking back what I said about him being a dork." Amber chuckled.

"Of course you won't. He's a total dork." She agreed firmly, knowing that there was no denying Lionel's geeky status. "He's a dork with a crush, though . . ." Amber decided it wouldn't be best to try and beat around the bush with the blunt girl.

"No, my final answer and I don't want him crying when he sees me later." Just then Principal Wuebber's office door opened and three people stepped out. One was a girl with spiked black and blue hair and multiple facial piercings and the other two were an elderly couple that were talking to Principal Wuebber.

"Thanks so much for your time, sir." The man was saying, casting an amused look at the girl, his blue eyes sparkling with humor. He and the girl shared a conspiratorial look while Principal Wuebber turned red.

"Yes, Mr. Olsen, this meeting was most," he gave the girl an odd look, "illuminating." Mr. Olsen chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the girl's hair, to her annoyance.

"Yeah, well, she'll be starting next week so you'd better get used to being blinded by all that illumination." He said before he left, the woman taking hold of his hand and the girl trailing after them as she put on a pair of earphones. Amber could see all three of their bodies shaking with contained laughter. The rebellious looking girl had done something and obviously the couple was well humored enough to not be mad about it.

"Amber Holt," Amber sighed, grabbing her bag and getting to her feet as Principal Wuebber held his door open for her. He sat down at his desk and Amber waited a moment before she held out her pass. He sighed heavily, taking it from her. "Late again?" He asked, pulling his reading glasses up onto his nose from the chain they hung on around his neck.

"I can't help it, sir. My homeroom class is on the third floor in the east wing and my first period class is on the first floor in the west wing. I've tried running and all it does is get me yelled at." She plopped down in the chair in front of his desk and then gave a strangled yelp, sitting straight up like someone had left a tack on the cushion. She groaned, tugging a guitar pick out from under her, a pick that had been sticking straight up when she'd taken her seat.

"That's because running isn't allowed in the halls Miss Holt." He said in a dull tone as he pulled Amber's file out of his filing cabinet, opened it, and wrote something down in it, sticking her pass inside. "Now, about this chronic lateness to Mr. Applegate's class . . ." Amber hung her head, afraid that she'd get kicked off of the radio station. "I'll just have to move you to a different homeroom." She perked up, her brown eyes wide with disbelief.

"Principal W, did I hear you right or has listening to Ursula's pop music all morning made me deaf?" Principal Wuebber gave her a flat look.

"You heard right, Miss Holt. I'm sure that if I transfer you to a different homeroom, one closer to the science room, you'll have no trouble getting to your class on time. I'll have the secretary give you a new schedule tomorrow. You can go now." Amber squealed, jumping out of her seat and running for the door. "Oh, and Miss Holt?" He called just as she opened the door. She looked back, her stomach clenching nervously. Had he just remembered something else she'd needed to be talked to about? No, no one knew that she was the one that had let all the frogs from the junior's bio lab loose last week. "Don't be late tomorrow." She let out a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across her dark features.

"Trust me, that will _so_ not be a problem anymore."

—

"Hey, Grandma, sorry I was late. I had some stuff to pick up at the library." Chloe apologized as she carried a box of doughnuts into her grandmother's apartment. It was a tradition, the doughnuts. Every Friday after school Chloe would come over and they would have hot chocolate and doughnuts and talk. Chloe had meant to come earlier but she'd had to stop by the library for material for a project and then she'd had to call her mom to bring her the library card she'd left at home. Lillian chuckled, waving away her stressed granddaughter's worries.

"No problem, kiddo." She said happily, taking the box from her and putting it on her kitchen's counter. "So, what were you at the library for?" She asked as Chloe puttered around the kitchen, putting on a pot of water for hot chocolate.

"Oh, just some stuff for school. We've got a big project on Ancient Egypt coming up and I haven't decided what to do it on yet." She said absently as she looked to Lillian to start the stove. Her grandmother, seeing her distress, quickly turned the stove on and then sat down at the table, waiting for Chloe to join her. "I think I'll do it on the pyramids but I'm not so sure." She trailed off as she sat down and took a doughnut. Lillian smiled.

"I'm sure whatever you choose will be perfect, Chloe." She encouraged as her black cat waltzed into the room, his eyes on the box of doughnuts. "Oh, just come and get one already." Chloe rolled her eyes as Napoleon jumped onto the table and snatched one of the doughnuts from the box. Lillian treated him like an old friend instead of a lazy cat and it was always funny when he managed to score treats like doughnuts.

"Silly kitty," Chloe giggled, scratching him behind the ears as he ate. He pulled away from the doughnut, purring as he rubbed his head against her fingers.

"So, I heard from Will that her granddaughter is starting school at Sheffield next week." Lillian supplied, watching the pair fondly. Chloe's hand left Napoleon's head and she sighed heavily as she went to pour hot chocolate mix into the boiling water on the stove.

"Grandma, I know you want me to make friends with her but I can't." She said nervously as Lillian joined her at the stove, turning it off for her.

"Why?" Chloe huffed, rolling her eyes.

"'Cause, I just can't." She poured the mix in and started stirring it as Lillian went to get cream from the fridge.

"Why?" Lillian smirked as her granddaughter huffed again, this time louder.

"Because, I just _can't_." She repeated, this time in a slightly shriller pitch. "I hate talking to strangers. They always make me feel stupid and you said she's . . . punkish." Lillian chuckled, handing her the cream.

"Rebellious, sarcastic, and a bit rude but I never in my life said she was punkish." Chloe rolled her eyes again.

"Well, that all adds up to punkish." She insisted. "Like Aunt Irma." Chloe wrinkled her nose in memory of Lillian's close friend "Aunt Irma" who was a firecracker despite having been in a wheelchair for the past ten years after slipping on some ice and breaking her hip. Lillian laughed.

"Trust me, Irma isn't punkish. She's like the Energizer Bunny. She goes on and on and on and on and—"

"I think I get the point Grandma." Chloe cut her off before she got carried away. She poured the hot chocolate into two mugs and took them to the table, Lillian joining her after getting the sugar down.

"Don't worry, Chloe, you'll be fine." Lillian pacified the girl as she sipped nervously on her cocoa, which was half-marshmallow-half-drink. "I have a feeling you two will be great friends." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"That's what you said when Katie moved to town." She said sulkily, hating being proved wrong.

"Exactly." There was silence for a while before Lillian spoke again. "You know, Chloe, sometimes things are just meant to be." Chloe rolled her eyes again, something she often did when her grandmother got all cryptic like that. Sometimes she was sure her grandmother was more confusing than one of those fortune cookies that had double or even triple meanings.

—

For Katie the week had been . . . peaceful compared to others she'd had to live through. There had been only two days she'd had to check out of the house after curfew due to the yelling. She should have known better than to think things would stay that way. When she got home that Friday she cursed herself for being surprised and a bit startled when the sound of shouting reached her ears. Of course a few days of peace had just been the lull before a storm and as she unlocked the door Katie braced herself for what she called "Hurricane Martinez" which really could refer to either of her parents any given day of the week. Today Hurricane Martinez was female and in the form of her mother, who was standing between her father and the television, her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"_You don't even think about what will happen if you don't show up for work!_" She was yelling in her native Spanish, a sign she was _really_ worked up. "_They'll fire you and then what will happen, Raul? You promised you'd support this family, damn it._" Katie sighed quietly, grabbing an apple out of the bowl of fruit on the table in the kitchen. This was a fight her mother had had with her deadbeat dad many times. Raul's lack of interest in holding a job and subsequently paying for his share of the rent and bills was nine-out-of-ten times the source of their arguing.

"_Fine, I'll just quit tomorrow. Then whether I come in or not won't be any of their business. Now move, woman, you're blocking my view._" There was a loud crash and Katie glanced into the living room to see that her mother had upended the TV. Well, it wasn't exactly a mystery what side of the family she got her temper from. Her father's face turned red and he got to his feet, crumpling the can of beer in his hand as his fingers clenched into a fist. Yeah, wasn't a mystery . . . she couldn't help herself when she flinched at the sound of the can hitting the floor hard enough to make it clear he'd thrown it down. And that was her cue to leave. After all, he never actually hit her or anything so there wasn't any reason for her to stick around while her parents tried to decide who could yell louder without hurting themselves. Katie grabbed a snack out of the cupboard and went to her room, locking the door. She put on some loud music, hitting the replay button so it would keep playing after she left, and then went to her window, throwing it open. Now the thing about her apartment building was that next to it was a shorter building. Her window opened onto the roof of that shorter building. She grabbed the bag of clothes, PJs, and toiletries that she kept under her bed for nights like this and ducked out of her room.

As usual she ran the whole way from her place to Chloe's. She got there in the middle of dinner but Chloe just smiled and told her to put her stuff in her room. Mrs. Matthews gave Katie a disgruntled look but didn't say anything past asking her if she'd like to join them or wait for Chloe in her room. Katie, who wasn't one for the wholesome family air that choked the Matthews' house, took a plate of food into Chloe's room, mumbling a thanks to Mrs. Matthews as she went.

Chloe's room was just like Chloe, somewhat bare and boring looking but with plenty of books. The most exciting item in her room, in Katie's opinion, was the largish painting hanging over her dresser instead of a mirror. Chloe's grandmother had given it to her on her tenth birthday, saying she'd gotten it from a friend. It was of four . . . people, Katie guessed was the best word for them though none of them looked human. One was a blonde woman, her hair stick straight and hanging down to her knees. She was floating above the ground, her arms outstretched, a halo of light surrounding her. Her robes were a pale blue color and on her forehead an odd symbol was painted in the same pale blue color. Next to her was a dark angel, black wings holding him off the ground, his face covered by a gold mask, a pair of glowing, neon green eyes visible through the eyeholes, and a tail visible behind him. He was wearing a vest and loose pants that were in a darker shade of the blue the woman was wearing, his belt showing the symbol on her forehead. The other two looked like werecats or something like that. The first was black with pointed ears and a collar. He had huge claws on his hands and feet and teeth that Katie never wanted to mess with. The other was tan, wearing a sleeveless tunic that went down to his knees and boots. He had a belt like the dark angel's and that too had the woman's symbol on it. Katie had always liked this painting, even though the black and tan were-animals had given Chloe nightmares when she first got it. She wasn't sure why but she'd always been sure that at times she could see the people moving . . . but whenever that happened she just shook her head and told herself not to be silly. Still, there had always been _something_ about the picture that pulled her eyes to it every time she was in the room.

"Hey, you done with that?" Katie wrenched her eyes away from the captivating painting to see Chloe standing in the doorway of her room, indicating the empty plate she was holding. Katie looked down at it, half surprised she'd finished eating without noticing, and then nodded absently, her gaze returning to the painting. "Man, you always ogle that thing like it holds the secrets to life's great questions whenever you come over." Chloe said teasingly as she followed her friend's gaze. Katie shrugged distractedly as Chloe took her plate.

"I don't know why. It's just . . ." She trailed off, frowning. "It's so weird. I feel like it's calling to me or something." She chuckled then, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Funny." Chloe rolled her eyes and left the room. Katie sighed, looking back to the picture. "Funny . . ."

The girls ended up holed up in Chloe's room watching movies on her TV and talking. That's what they usually did on the nights that Katie came over. After the sixth time Chloe had tried to use her presence to get some homework done Katie had banned any and all schoolwork talk whenever she was sleeping over. So Chloe popped in a documentary on the wild cats of the African Savanna and they changed into their pajamas. Chloe's white t-shirt and loose blue pants were a great contrast to Katie's too-big Bite Me t-shirt and Jack Skellington sweatpants. It wasn't until late that Chloe offered to do Katie's hair, an offer the older girl accepted hesitantly, not knowing exactly how far Chloe's hairstyling abilities extended. The bookish girl didn't exactly look like the type that could do more than a ponytail or simple braid. But Katie sat down and while Chloe brushed her waist length hair out they talked, mostly wondering aloud which cheerleader would be the first to be gifted with a Jersey at homecoming. The Jerseys were old football jerseys given to girls whose dresses left little to the imagination and much to be desired when it came to the dress codes. The capital J was a sign of the status and infamy they'd earned over the years Sheffield had been open.

"I don't know, maybe Rachel Phinkle." Chloe suggested as she absently brushed Katie's hair for the millionth time that night. Katie chuckled. "Or Ursula, but she's not a cheerleader." Katie full out laughed at this and Chloe tugged on her hair impatiently. "Stop wiggling or I'm going to mess this up." She chastised gently, returning to what she was doing.

"Ooh, I know who's gonna get the first Jersey." Katie said after a moment's speculation.

"Oh?" Chloe asked dubiously, tugging at Katie's hair.

"Yeah, that Lilli chick from geometry. Have you seen those shirts she wears?"

"Considering that I'm a grade below you and have no idea what Lilli even looks like, no, I haven't seen those shirts she wears." Katie bit back a yelp as Chloe tugged particularly hard on her hair.

"What are you doing to my head?" She asked inquisitively, trying to turn so she could see Chloe's handiwork. Chloe roughly pushed her head back so she was facing forward.

"Nu-uh, missy, you aren't getting a look at this until I'm done." Katie let out a short nervous chuckle.

"I'm nervous now, Specks." She said uneasily. Chloe just giggled, continuing with her work.

"You know, I think you're right about this Lilli girl." She said in an obvious attempt to change the subject. "At least, I would if you'd tell me what she looks like." Katie rolled her eyes at the pathetically hidden jump in conversation but launched into a description of "this Lilli girl."


	2. Chapter 2

Jordyn's weekend had been better than she'd expected though she and Will had gotten into a shouting match every time she was told to do something, such as dishes or vacuuming. Of course those fights usually ended with Jordyn stomping up to her attic bedroom and turning her music on as loud as it could go, not letting the stairs down for either of her grandparents. Aside from the occasional yell or shout of anger—usually made by either Will or Jordyn and directed at whichever one wasn't shouting—the three days after Jordyn's arrival were peaceful. She got to know her grandparents, who she hadn't even seen since she was four and hadn't talked to since she was six. Out of the two of them, though, she liked Matt the best. After she'd been discovered picking absently at a black electric guitar, a pair of headphones plugged into it, they'd really hit it off. He kept bringing boxes of old sheet music from his band up out of the basement and even gave her his old guitar pick. Of course she promptly lost it later that afternoon in Principal Wuebber's office, but it was a nice gesture. She was sure she'd be back in the office soon enough to look for it anyway so she wasn't so worried.

Anyway, by the time Monday rolled around Jordyn, though she was far from settled, had started adjusting to life with her grandparents. Though she still bristled like a cat anytime Will mentioned anything remotely sounding like "could you please?" or "go get me" and was often missing for at least an hour after these occurrences. The Olsens understood that, her mother having just died, she needed time and they told themselves that they'd wait for her to come to them instead of trying to force their presence on her. After all, upset teenagers were often like injured animals. If you tried to get close without waiting for them to make the first move they'd either retreat even further, lash out, or both. Which was why Matt waited until after six-thirty to wake Jordyn up on Monday morning. He was pretty sure a wakeup call any earlier than that would have earned him a growl and a pillow to the face.

"Hey, kiddo, it's time to get up." The open trapdoor let in the smell of the breakfast Will was making and Matt hoped it would be enough to get Jordyn out of bed. There was a groan from the bed but Jordyn started moving around. "Be down soon, okay?" Yeah, okay, whatever. She grumbled mentally as she sat up, stretching out her stiff muscles. She heard Grandpa Matt take his leave as she slowly but surely got out of bed, her eyes half-squinted against the pale sunlight let in by her east-facing window. She rubbed her eyes blearily as she stumbled towards the bathroom on the one end of her room.

After getting ready for the day she thundered downstairs and into the kitchen, her stomach rumbling hungrily at the smell of food that was wafting through the house. She ran a hand through her hair as she shuffled into the room, her eyes locked on the quiche-looking thing on the table. She grabbed a plate from the cupboard, a fork from the utensil drawer, and then sat down across from Matt, eyeing the dish curiously. After studying it cautiously for a moment she cut herself a square and lifted it onto her plate. Looking at its side she could see ham and bacon in it as well as melted globs of cheddar cheese. There was a layer of hash brown on the bottom. Jordyn made a "huh" noise and decided it wouldn't be the worst thing she'd ever put in her mouth.

Okay, so it was the best thing she'd ever put in her mouth. She ate half of the dish, only stopping when Will jokingly told her to save some for the rest of them. She decided that she'd have to get the recipe without anyone finding out somehow. After breakfast Jordyn went back upstairs to get her stuff and then left with Will, who was driving her to school. Jordyn spent five minutes standing on the sidewalk, staring at the car, until she forced herself to get in. The ride was quiet and Jordyn almost threw up the quiche she'd eaten, her face tinted green as she stared out the window. Will wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything that would make it better while ensuring that the girl wouldn't open her mouth to give a snappy retort, something she was sure would make her toss her cookies all over the inside of her car. Jordyn was just glad when they got to the school without having to talk.

"Please wait until after lunch to get in trouble." Will said jokingly as Jordyn got out, shouldering her bag.

"Sure, whatever." She said before she turned and walked away.

"Good luck!" Will smirked as she watched Jordyn flinch at her enthusiastic yell. From where she was she could see Jordyn's ears turn red as she walked at a hurried pace towards the school's main entrance, her head bowed in embarrassment.

Jordyn's entire face turned pink when Will yelled at her and she ducked her head as she continued on her way, wanting to get inside before any teasing started. Meanwhile down the block McKenzie was bouncing on her feet, excited that today was the day a new girl was starting at the school, her eyes scanning the crowd around them for the new student. Katie, who was with her as usual in the mornings, rolled her eyes.

"I'll catch you later." She half-raised a hand before she turned and disappeared into the crowd, not wanting to be a part of McKenzie's attempt to reach out to the new girl. McKenzie paid no attention to her friend's surly mood as she continued to search the crowd for an unfamiliar face.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." Chloe—who had been asking Katie about a party or something when she'd left—said uncertainly before slipping away. McKenzie was still straining to see over the heads of the older students. She wasn't exactly the shortest student in the school, topping off at five foot four, but she wasn't the tallest either considering the size of some of the senior football players. She ended up standing on the base of Old Man Sheffield's statue, clinging to his side as she peered over the heads of her classmates, searching for a new face. She finally spotted a head covered in black and blue spikes that she'd never seen before and she squealed, jumping off the statue and running towards the figure. All Jordyn saw before she was tackled was a flash of red.

She staggered to the side under the small redhead's weight, her mind reeling. What was going on? She was starting to feel trapped when the girl pulled away, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. Jordyn was torn between punching her and doing as Will had asked and staying out of trouble until later. Her fist clenched as the girl started talking in a cheerful voice.

"Y' must be the new girl. I'm McKenzie O'Rourke. C'mon I'll show y' the way t' the principal's office." Before Jordyn could protest or tell her that she already knew where Principal Wuebber's office was McKenzie had grabbed her arm and was dragging her into the building, chattering excitedly.

"Thanks, but I already know where it is." She finally managed to say as McKenzie started up the stairs.

"Hey, McKenzie!" Jordyn almost ran into McKenzie when she skidded to a stop on a landing, turning to look up at the person calling her name. A short blonde made her way towards them. "Katie's looking for you. She needs help getting her locker open." McKenzie frowned but nodded, dancing off to help Katie. When she was gone the blonde turned to Jordyn with a small, shy smile. "Sorry about her. She's . . ."

"An asylum escapee?" Jordyn supplied, pushing past the blonde and heading up the stairs.

"I was going to say enthusiastic but kinda." She said with a small smile. "I'm Chloe, by the way, um, Chloe Matthews." Jordyn rolled her eyes, wishing that Chloe would leave her alone.

"Is there a reason you're following me around like a lost puppy or am I going to have to just guess?" Chloe turned pink.

"Um, my grandma knows your grandma. She kinda wanted me to get to know you." Chloe shrugged. "But, you know, I don't have to." She quickly supplied when Jordyn shot her an exasperated glare.

"Yeah, no, so bye." She sped up, jogging up the stairs, leaving an embarrassed Chloe behind. Well, that wasn't at all awkward.

On the other end of the building Amber was outlining with Ursula just exactly which boy in school was the most sought after. She usually didn't indulge in the Sea Witch's gossiping but she _always_ made an exception for boys. Her thirteenth birthday was in a few days and she was jokingly describing which of the star soccer players she'd like to get as a birthday present.

"Well, I'm not naming names but a certain starting forward would be a present I'd like to unwrap on my birthday." Ursula giggled as Amber blushed. "But let's get serious, there's no way. Hello, senior, anyway, I'd be happy with Collins if he wanted me." Brady Collins was a freshman that Amber had had her eye on for a while now. She was dying to have him be her first kiss though, with the way things were going, that would more likely be one of the nerds from her science class that kept sending her goo-goo eyes over the beakers. She was sure that she'd be able to snag someone cuter . . . if she dressed different. But she didn't care enough to leave behind the jeans and t-shirts of her childhood just yet.

"Yeah, Collins is cute . . ." Ursula agreed as she reached for the paper on which the results of the poll were. "But he didn't take the cake. Top on our list of most wanted athletes is—drum roll please," Amber drummed her fingers on the desk jokingly, "Adam Gruber, the star quarterback of our football team." She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder as she continued. "Also, the nominees for Homecoming King and Queen have been chosen. For the boys we've got . . . Adam Gruber, Chuck Reynolds, Ryan Emerson, and Pete Fillar. For the girls we have Rachel Phinkle, Lilli Smith, Phoebe Stryder, and yours truly, Ursula Truman." Amber had to practically stuff her fist into her mouth to keep from laughing at the pride on the junior's face.

"Okay, well, good luck to all those nominated." She jumped in after a moment of choking down her amusement. "Now remember people if you want to vote just go down to the box by the main entrance, take one of the slips of paper provided, and fill in the box next to the names of the people you want for King and Queen. As always the winners will be announced the day before the dance and the runners up will be the court. Well, it's about time I got to class. Commander Holt over and out!" She pushed away from the table and went to get her bag while Ursula continued on the updates of whatever gossip was running through the halls.

She wasn't late for science, much to Mr. Applegate's annoyance. He gave her a sour look and made a snarky comment about her finally being on time and then set them up into pairs to make the chemical mixes they were doing today. Amber's partner was a shy blonde with glasses that she'd seen a few times in the halls. Once Mr. Applegate told them to move so they were sitting with their partners Amber gathered her things and went to sit next to her. The blonde—Amber didn't know her first name but after Mr. Applegate had called her Matthews she figured that last name basis was better than none at all—gave her a small smile before she went back to staring at the burner on Amber's end of the table, her expression daunted and terrified.

"Chop chop children, we don't have all day." Mr. Applegate called, heading to his desk. There was a fire extinguisher underneath, a fact Amber knew from personal experience.

"So, I'm Amber." The blonde half smiled again and then picked up the worksheet she'd been given.

"Chloe," she supplied absently as she read over their instructions. "Okay, we're making glass today." She said, handing over the sheet for Amber to see. Amber's eyes lit up.

"Okay, that's just freakin' awesome," She half-crowed as she jumped out of her seat to get the necessary supplies from the closet in the back.

It wasn't long before the extinguisher was brought out to subdue the explosion at Chloe and Amber's station. Mr. Applegate was baffled as to how Amber had managed the runaway fire with something as non-explosive as lime, silicone sand, and sodium carbonate. Chloe, who had stubbornly insisted that Amber take care of anything involving the burner, had to go to the nurse's office after her notebook caught fire, sending her into a full blown panic attack. Amber escorted her as she breathed into a paper bag, apologizing profusely and stating that if she'd known that Chloe was afraid of fire she would have been more careful. Chloe just nodded weakly and continued her deep breathing.

—

"Princess . . ." The subdued half question was met with a piercing, semi-luminescent green gaze.

"Just tell me the bad news already." The owner of the eyes snapped impatiently, her white blonde hair falling in her face as she looked up from her knees, where her gaze had settled in boredom. "My brother and his little friends have once again managed to get away with a delivery of supplies to this palace." Her nails drummed on the armrest of her throne as her gaze pierced into the eyes of the guard kneeling in front of her. The greenish-blue pendent on the necklace she was wearing was glowing brightly, as if channeling her anger.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty. They're like ghosts. We don't see them coming and can't catch them." She rolled her eyes, having heard the excuse one too many times.

"Enough!" She snapped, cutting off his groveling. "You have failed me, Vellthro, and failure must be punished."

"Princess, please!" The guard, Vellthro, stammered as she raised her hand, energy crackling in her palm. "Give me another chance, please I—" The pale blue-green energy shot out from her palm and struck him in the chest. In a blinding flash he was gone and she turned to the young man standing at the base of her dais.

"Well?" His pale blue eyes left the place where the guard had been standing and met hers.

"Mistress, there have been no reported sightings of the rebels and the spells around the castle are still intact." She growled, getting to her feet and descending the stairs of the platform her throne was on until she was standing in front of the man.

"I should have known better than to think my brother would come out of hiding willingly." The pendant on her necklace glowed again. She stared off into space for a moment before smirking. "Terra, do you know why mouse traps work?" An equally conniving grin touched Terrra's features as he realized where she was going with this. "The bait. It draws them out and brings them to the trap like calves to the slaughter house." He chuckled as she conjured up a bag of grain, grabbing a handful and watching as it poured out between her fingers. "And I've just found the bait we need to lure out my brother."

—

"Torin, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No," Torin grunted as he pulled a barrel up onto the ledge he'd just scaled, "why?" His companion, a gangly teen with a mop of untidy dirty blond hair, groaned as he reached for the cracks his friend had just used to pull himself up the cliff.

"Why is it that you always manage to drag me into these crazy ideas of yours?" He asked through grunts and groans as he climbed the rest of the cliff and finally came to stand next to Torin.

"Because you're my best friend, why else?" Torin's companion, Rath, rolled his eyes as Torin popped the lid off the barrel and pulled out a small cloth bag. "Besides, we need to create a distraction for the others." Rath rolled his eyes as he set down the quiver of special arrows he'd lugged up the cliff. "According to that passling those guards are gonna be completely drunk tonight. These will just serve to distract them even more thoroughly." Rath grumbled but continued setting up for their special display while Torin scanned the forest below for the signal that the rest of their party was in place.

"That's the signal." They'd been sitting on the ledge for almost three hours when Rath shot to his feet, pointing towards the place in the trees were they could see a light flashing. Blue and then red and then blue again. Torin chuckled excitedly as he pulled out one of the small bags from the barrel. "Should I be worried over how excited you are about this?" Rath asked nervously as Torin used a sling shot to throw the bag far out over the valley below them. Rath quickly took an arrow and dipped its tip in the fire they'd made. He shot it at the bag and it exploded in a cloud of red sparks. _Boom!_

"I love my job." Torin yelled over the noise as he continued to hurl the bags over the valley, aiming them towards the air above the small fortress visible near the river. Rath just rolled his eyes, shooting another bag with a flaming arrow.

After the barrel had been emptied and the signal had been given that their group had gotten all they needed safely Torin and Rath packed up the remnants of their supplies and quickly climbed down the cliff. After tossing the things they didn't need into the river they took off towards the place they'd planned on meeting their group, their thoughts bent on the food that their party had just stolen. It had been almost two months since their last raid and supplies had begun to get stingy. Neither boy had eaten in two days. They were starving and couldn't wait to see what they'd gotten in the raid. Unfortunately neither boy knew that they were heading into a trap.

—

"Look, I don't know why she wanted me to, she just did." Chloe tried to explain to Jordyn as they changed out of their Gym clothes.

"Yeah, well, you can just tell her I'm not coming over." Jordyn said stubbornly, grabbing her backpack. "I've got better things to do than hang out with you and your friends, no offence." Jordyn hurried along down the hall, wanting to get away from the blonde, who had asked her just five minutes previously if she'd like to come over to her grandmother's house after school today. The thing was, she wanted to go. She just didn't want to risk making friends only to have to leave them if something happened to her grandparents or if this whole thing didn't work out and she had to leave.

"Your grandparents are coming over anyway; they'll probably bring you along just because." Chloe was grasping at straws and Jordyn knew it but she'd finally hit a good enough reason to come along with Chloe's friends of her own free will. "I mean, it's not like I know half the people there. Grandma had me invite McKenzie and that Amber girl from the radio station is coming too." It was the day after the incident in the science lab and though Chloe had forgiven Amber the other girl had still insisted on buying her lunch to make up for it. Since Katie was getting tutored for algebra in the library Chloe didn't have any excuse not to be dragged to the table that Amber sat at with one of the geeky guys that ran the school's radio station, some of the nicer cheerleaders in school, and some other people that weren't popular enough to be cool but weren't geeky, emo, or whatever enough to be in any other niche. Somehow, without meaning to, Chloe had ended up inviting Amber over to the thing that her grandma was doing for her and "her friends" after school.

"Fine, I'll come over but I'm _not_ going to have fun."

"That's fine. I think my grandma just wants to meet you. Aunt Will talks about you a lot whenever she comes over." Jordyn frowned over at Chloe as they came out into the afternoon sun.

"You know my grandma?" Chloe nodded but couldn't answer because just then McKenzie came up to them with Katie. McKenzie smiled at Jordyn, Katie just gave her a once over before staring sulkily off in another direction. She didn't know why Chloe insisted on dragging her along to this little tea party but she sure as hell was going to put up as big a fight against it as possible. If there was anything Katie loved more than upholding her title as the most cynical person in the school it was digging her heels in when Chloe or McKenzie tried to get her to loosen up.

"Amber decided to skip out on us, did she?" She asked as her eyes swept over the last stragglers for Amber's face.

"I'm sure she's just late." Chloe said, dreading the possibility that the much more popular girl had in fact stood them up. Katie rolled her eyes at how trusting Chloe was.

"Whatever," she sped up so she was ahead of the others, "let's just get going already." Chloe shot Jordyn an uneasy smile before she jogged to catch up with Katie.

The walk to Chloe's grandmother's place was rather silent, even after Amber had finally caught up with them, having been held after by her History teacher due to her floundering grades. Katie refused to talk to anyone except for the occasional whisper directed at Chloe and no one else knew anyone else well enough to say anything. Jordyn kept shooting curious glances at the girls she was walking with, wondering why she felt like they were going to end up being great friends.

"Hey girls," Lillian greeted them with a smile a few minutes later. "I was just talking to your grandparents, Jordyn, and the snacks'll be done in a minute." Jordyn was surprised to see Grandma Will and Grandpa Matt sitting at the table in the kitchen, looking very much like they belonged there. "Why don't you come and sit down? Chloe, introduce me to your friends." Chloe's face turned red as they joined Matt and Will at the table. Jordyn made sure to sit as far as physically possible from her grandparents.

"Well, this is Katie, but you already know her. McKenzie is staying at the Lyndon's house, she's an exchange student. That's Amber and you already know about Jordyn." Everybody made the appropriate noises and half-greetings as Lillian bustled around the kitchen, getting down glasses and plates and napkins. "Guys, this is my grandma, Lillian, or Mrs. Lair, however you wanna call her." Lillian chuckled as she set down glasses for them all and then went to check on something in the fridge.

"I've got limeade, Coke, water, and white grape juice." She leaned out to see them. "What'll it be?" They mumbled their preferences and as she got the drinks the girls exchanged nervous glances. Amber watched everything with wide, excited eyes. What a cool way to make new friends. Of course she could do without the old people but if someone would just start talking she was sure they could get to know each other better. "So, I'm glad you could all make it. And I'm particularly surprised in you." She was speaking to Amber now, who blushed. "I didn't think Chloe was friends with you."

"We kinda aren't. But when she invited me over I just couldn't say no." She shrugged, reaching for the plate of . . . something that Lillian put down. They all missed the knowing smirks that the adults shared at her statement that she hadn't been able to say no to Chloe's invitation.

"Well, it's good to know Chloe is finally making some friends. And what about you, Jordyn?" Jordyn looked up from the pattern she'd been scratching on the tabletop, her walnut eyes wide.

"Oh, uh, not really yet," she shrugged like it didn't matter but a shadow passed over her features as she looked back down at the table.

"Just remember, you often find friends in the least likely of circumstances." Chloe groaned, her head falling to her hand. _Why?_ Why did her grandma have to start talking like that when they had company? _Why?_ "So, where are you from?"

"Uh, Seattle," She mumbled, still picking at the tabletop.

"That's why you're so pale, right?" Jordyn shot Amber an annoyed look at the comment but the girl ignored her, continuing. "I mean, how many days does the sun come out there anyway?" Jordyn shrugged.

"I dunno," she didn't mind the questions but didn't want to let anything personal slip with these people.

"Let's put it this way, can you count those days on one hand?" Jordyn actually cracked a smile at that.

"It seems like it." She said softly, running a hand through her hair.

"So, why did you move here?"

"My mom died." The room went quiet. It was a while before Amber chuckled sheepishly.

"Well, not to poke at the elephant in the room but—" Jordyn cut her off before she could start asking her in that sympathetic voice that everyone had once they'd found out if she was okay.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's not that big a deal." Her eyes lifted from the table and she gazed around at them before continuing. "We weren't really that close anyway." She finished softly. There was silence for a moment before Amber shrugged, reaching for her drink.

"Good enough for me. So, Chloe, what did you call us over here today for?" Chloe shrugged, looking to Lillian.

"I dunno, Grandma just insisted I bring my friends over." As one the girls looked to Chloe's grandmother, expecting her to say something on the matter. Instead of addressing them, though, she remained silent for a moment before looking to Will.

"Did you bring it?" Will nodded, her hand going to a small metal box with a padlock on it that none of the girls had noticed before.

"Yep, and it's been going nuts all weekend." Lillian beamed, finally sitting down at the head of the table, Will and Matt on either side of her. Chloe couldn't help but think that she looked like a queen or something like that. She had never been able to put her finger on it but Lillian always seemed to exude power and sometimes she looked like she glowed a bit. Yeah, it was crazy, but she supposed everyone saw stuff that wasn't really there at one time or another.

"Good, well, I suppose you girls would like to hear a story?" Chloe groaned again, her forehead making contact with the table, before she looked up at Lillian, begging whatever deities there were that this was just a nightmare.

"Grandma, _please_, they _really_ don't want to hear a story." This was the first time she'd had more than one person she referred to as more than just an acquaintance in one spot and she didn't want her grandma blowing her chances of maybe making friends. Lillian frowned a bit.

"Oh? Not even if it was like one of those IMAX thingies you like to watch so much?" Matt snickered.

"Not like that," he said through his chuckles. "You don't want to give them all heart attacks with one of your Glamours. Then we'd have to wait another who knows how long for another batch to show up."

"Grandma, can you please start talking in English again?" Chloe asked, wondering when exactly her grandma had gotten so weird.

"Of course," she got to her feet, waving her hand through the air as if she was clearing the fog off a window or mirror. The air her hand passed through shimmered. "Let's see . . ." the shimmering air seemed to solidify into a screen, a blank one that is, "where did it start?" She looked to Will.

"Oh, I'd say ten years ago." She said, shrugging one shoulder as she picked at her food.

"No, not that, I mean when did it start for you?" Chloe had never heard her grandmother sound more like an impatient child.

"Seventh grade, I moved here with my mom." Lillian nodded, smiling once again.

"Ah, yes, I remember now." The screen thing grew until it enveloped the entire room. "Well, girls, I was hoping that we'd find you sooner but a certain grandchild sure took her time coming here." She gave Jordyn a pointed look, which got her a glare in return. "It all started a very long time ago . . . but we're not telling that story today."

"Uh, Grandma, what's going on?" Chloe asked as the black shimmered away into a room.

"Shush, I'm telling a story." The room was actually more like a palace courtyard. The entire thing, floor, walls, ceiling, was made from white polished marble that seemed to glow from the inside. A blue sky with white fluffy clouds could be seen from where they were sitting. Amber's thoughts were that this was much better than anything IMAX had ever come up with. "Now, where was I—oh yes, Kandrakar. Now, back before time began—Chloe please, save the science for when I'm done—Kandrakar was made to house those whose jobs it is to watch over the universe and its inhabitants." The courtyard disappeared and was replaced by a pink sky full of different planets. One was Earth, as was obvious by the lay of the land, but the others were not familiar to anyone but the three adults. "The power of Kandrakar was instilled in a crystal, the Heart of Kandrakar." She closed her hand and it glowed brilliant pale blue for a second before the glow faded. She opened her fingers and in her palm lay a necklace, its pendant a pink orb encased in silver. Will rolled her eyes, muttering "show off" under her breath. She moved it so it was hanging from her fingers, the light it gave off reflecting in the eyes of all the girls, who were staring at it as if hypnotized. Jordyn leaned forward, half out of her seat as she leaned heavily on the table. She fought the almost irresistible urge to grab the necklace from Lillian as the woman continued talking. "Unfortunately Kandrakar isn't always safe. In times of danger the Heart chooses five girls to become the Guardians of Kandrakar, and, sometimes, the Guardians of the Veil."

"Uh, what veil?" McKenzie asked weakly, half raising her hand as she continued to look around her in wonder.

"This veil." The scene changed to show one of the worlds, completely encased in a black shadow. It was separated from the rest of the worlds by a wall that was the same color as the pendant Lillian was still holding. "It protects the universe from whatever worlds may be overcome with evil. Ten years ago something happened to the princess of this world and it had to be sealed off for the second time in its history to keep her from attacking other worlds. It was necessary but resulted in us being cut off from anyone on Meridian, good or otherwise." Her eyes dropped to where the floor should have been guiltily. "And now that all of you are here you have been called to protect the veil and close the portals that open in it, connecting Meridian to Earth. The veil isn't as young as it once was, after all, and it was already starting to tear years ago, when I was young." The air went dark again before the kitchen popped suddenly back into existence. Lillian pushed her chair in, leaning on its back as she carefully studied the faces of the girls, each of them so young and yet somehow ready to take on the universe. She knew they were ready, because if they weren't the Heart wouldn't be glowing the way it was.

"Are you serious?" Katie asked, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes slits as she glared at Lillian. "No offense Mrs. Lair, but this is all just a little too . . . weird. I mean, come on, what're we supposed to do? Get a cosmos-sized needle and thread and just stitch it back together?" She pushed away from the table, getting to her feet. "This is just ridiculous, I'm outta—" Before she could finish her sentence the potted plant on the shelf above the sink exploded, its roots growing until they were draped over the sink and down halfway to the floor. Katie gave out a startled yelp, falling back into her chair. There was silence for a long time before Amber let out a strained laugh.

"Man, Katie, what were you just saying about ridiculous?" Katie's eyes were wide, locked on the roots of the simple geranium, over four feet long and as thick as hoses.

"Grandma, how is any of this possible?" Chloe asked, her logical, science ridden brain baffled.

"Magic, how else?" She took another look at the girls before continuing. "You five have been chosen as the new Guardians. I believe that recently you all have noticed certain elements acting up around you." She looked to Amber, whose glass of limeade was sloshing in time to her fingers tapping on the table. Amber looked down and stilled her finger, an "oops" expression on her face. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, dear, it's perfectly natural." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"My mom said that when my monthly visitor first appeared." Everyone let out strained chuckles except the adults, who just smiled.

"Yes, well, for you this is a little like that. You all have control over a certain element, Amber and Katie have already displayed their powers over water and earth . . . and I'm quite sure we already know who the next Keeper of the Heart is." Matt, Will, and Lillian turned to look at Jordyn.

"The what?" She asked, surprised and worried.

"This," Lillian held out the necklace that Jordyn had so badly wanted to take from her. "It is the Heart of Kandrakar. It unifies the elements and is given to the leader of the Guardians for safe keeping."

"You mean I'm in charge of this shindig? That's—I can't be in charge."

"Why ever not?" Jordyn's mouth opened and closed a few times, strangled noises coming out before she managed to say anything comprehensible.

"Because, I just _can't_." Will sighed heavily, her eyes turning towards the heavens before her head fell to her hand and Matt chuckled.

"My ever so eloquent granddaughter, ladies and gentlemen."

"I'm serious, Grandpa, I can't be in charge. I don't know anyone, I don't know how to be . . . in charge. I wouldn't know what to do." Will leaned around Amber to put an arm on her shoulder, bringing her rambling to a stop.

"It'll be okay, Jordyn. I felt just as nervous when I first got the Heart and my girls and I turned out fine. Just take the Heart and you'll feel peace." Jordyn rolled her eyes, shrugging off Will's hand before she reached for the necklace, the Heart of Kandrakar if she really believed that. Of course there was that tug in her gut, telling to just reach out and grab the thing. She did, a little eagerly for someone who was supposed to be skeptical about all this. Will was right. The second her fingers wrapped around the necklace's chain and pulled it from Lillian's hand she felt . . . warm and peaceful, the way she used to feel when her dad was still around. She rolled the pendant into her palm and stared at it contemplatively. It was still glowing, though less than it had been before, and it was emitting a low heat that was comfortable and spread from her hand to the rest of her body like warm honey or some other sweet, slightly sluggish thing. The pink light of the Heart of Kandrakar reflected in her slightly glassy eyes as she stared blankly at it, her mind and body reveling in the sudden filling of an empty place she hadn't known she had.

"McKenzie, dear, please do be careful." Lillian's voice cut through her haze and she looked up to see McKenzie giggling as she made her napkin dance on an invisible wind.

"This is cool." She laughed as she sent the napkin zooming around the kitchen, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she wiggled her fingers to control the current it was riding on.

"Bu—but that means . . ." Chloe said in a strangled voice, her eyes wide with terror. "No! I can't be, Grandma, you—_no_!" She shouted the last word as the table, where her hand touched it, started to smoke, giving off the smell of burned plastic. "Grandma, I _can't_ do fire, I just can't. You know what happened with—no, I-I can't do this." She jumped out of her chair like it had shocked her and ran for the door, slamming it shut behind her. All was quiet for a while before, "Well, that didn't go well."

"No, duh, Amber." Katie snapped, getting to her feet and running out. The door slammed shut behind her but by the time the hall fell silent she was already in the elevator, her fists clenching and unclenching as she waited for it to reach the first floor of the building. This was stupid, all of it. Guardians of the Veil? Yeah right, she wasn't sure what but Chloe's grandmother had obviously been smoking _something_ recently. They all had. And maybe she'd gotten a whiff of it or something because that was the only way to explain what had happened back there. And poor Chloe—the elevator finally reached the first floor and she ran out of the building, heading for the place she knew her friend would be—first she gets this load of crap dumped on her and then she finds out that she's supposed to guard fire. Katie knew that there was no way she'd be able to do this, not after Avery.

The Riverview Cemetery was down by the river, obviously, and was a little more than two acres dedicated to the dead of the city. Not all of them of course, just the ones that happened to be buried there. Katie had been here a million times, first on the day of the funeral and then again with Chloe every year when she came to visit. Sometimes, when she wasn't feeling good, Chloe would disappear and Katie knew she could always come here to find her. The third row from the huge angel monument, two away from the tombstone of Washington Irving—not _the_ Washington Irving, just some guy with the same name—was the headstone of Avery Matthews. It wasn't big, unlike the stones on either side of it, and aside from a scratch from a rock Chloe had thrown at it when she was ten there weren't any marks on it other than the name and dates he was born and died on. He'd been six. Chloe had been eight.

"He was stuck in his room." Chloe said, her eyes never leaving the tombstone she was sitting in front of, staring at the name.

"Chlo, it was five years ago." She sat down next to Chloe, who had her arms wrapped around her legs, her legs pulled up to her chest.

"Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday." She said quietly. Katie nodded, leaning on her crossed legs as she waited for Chloe to talk herself out of her slump. "They want me to be fire? I can't even light a _match_ without freaking out." Or work herself up into a panicked frenzy. This wouldn't be the first time Chloe had a breakdown when it came to fire. "How am I supposed to do this? How—" Katie clapped a hand to her mouth, cutting her off before she got too worked up.

"Look, I don't know what your grandma has been taking lately but this is all crazy." Chloe shook her head, prying off Katie's hand.

"It's real. I know it is." She said quietly, as if afraid to speak louder than a whisper, like that would break the spell. "There's this burning right here," she put her hand over her heart, "and I know it's true. And I'm fire now . . ."

"If you believe this, Chlo, then I do too. And I'll stick with you no matter how long it takes for you to be able to use your element." She smoothed down Chloe's wild wavy hair, her eyes softer than she usually let them get. Chloe smiled, her eyes still full of unshed tears.

"Thanks."

Meanwhile Jordyn was talking to Will, asking questions that, though they seemed stupid to her once she'd said them out loud, were important.

"So, if I'm the Keeper of the Heart what power do I get? I mean, it's not like Avatar where I can control all four, is it?" Will chuckled at the reference to the old DVDs that Jordyn had stumbled upon over the weekend. It was an old show, long over, but she had gotten sucked into it like she'd been watching it since she was little.

"No, you won't get any powers other than opening and closing portals until the Veil is lowered. And then you'll have power over Quintessence." Jordyn frowned, her nose wrinkling.

"What?"

"Quintessence is often called the fifth element." Everybody turned to see Chloe standing in the doorway with Katie behind her. "It's the element of life." Will nodded.

"You can bring any inanimate object to life and electric appliances start talking to you. Isn't that right, Becky?" She looked over to the fridge.

"_Oh yes, quite right._" Amber, who was leaning on the counter next to the fridge, yelped, taking a step away.

"Now that you're Guardians you can hear her too. Actually, you can hear all of them. Apparently the talking thing was one of the lifelong perks of being an ex-Guardian." Lillian chuckled as Will rolled her eyes.

"So, Mrs. Lair, were you a Guardian?" McKenzie waited for an answer, eyes wide with curiosity.

"No, I wasn't." She said evenly. "I am the Heart of Earth." Chloe frowned, opening her mouth to ask what that was. "Every world has a Heart, the focal point of its magical energy. Just because Earth's magical community isn't as large as it once was doesn't mean it doesn't have a Heart anymore. I've been the Heart since my fourteenth birthday. I've ruled with my regents since then." She smiled at Matt, fondly ruffling his hair as she went around him to put the lemonade away. "In fact, you have a painting of us when we first started, Chloe. In your bedroom."

"That's what that is?" Katie asked as she sat down at the table. "It always felt . . . magnetic to me." Lillian nodded.

"The painter might have been magic. He did a very good job. Got Matt's dreads just right." Will rolled her eyes and Jordyn noticed that all three of them looked younger than they had moments before, reliving their glory days.

"Oh, man, I hated those things. Do you have any idea what it was like for me to have to wash those things out after the Candy Land incident? A wad of frickin' gum the size of my fist and don't get me started on the candy cane goo. I ask you, where in the world did you come up with that particular Glamour? And his feathers, he couldn't change back because—well, you know why. What'd you do? Throw him in a river of caramel?" Lillian blushed, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"That sounds about right, doesn't it Lil?" Matt said with a chuckle.

"Wait, you're that guy." Katie said, pointing at Matt, her eyes wide. "You—you're the angel, aren't you?" Matt smiled smugly, causing Will to roll her eyes again.

"Finally, someone recognizes me." Will flicked him. "Ow!"

"Wait, so who were the other two? Those . . . _things_ were massive."

"Gee, thanks doll." Katie yelped as Napoleon jumped onto the table and sat down, his tail curling around his legs. "Khor could never admit it but I was the bigger one."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, talking cat!" McKenzie yelled with a half-giggle as she danced away from the place she'd been standing next to Napoleon.

"I prefer the term 'Familiar'." He said indignantly.

"So, who was the other one? The one in black?" Chloe asked quietly, her eyes locked on her grandmother.

"Mr. Huggles," Matt supplied easily. Jordyn snorted and ended up choking on her drink.

"Wait, the dormouse in my room?" Upon moving into her attic bedroom Jordyn had been greeted by a largish cage full of tunnels and hammocks that was occupied by a small, grey-ish tan dormouse that Matt had told her was named Mr. Huggles. "What exactly does he turn into? I don't want him mauling me in my sleep." Matt, Will, and Lillian all laughed.

"He's a sweetheart, Jordyn, and you don't have to worry about him transforming. None of us have done that since we were much younger." They all chuckled and then fell into contemplative silence.

"So, how do I work this?" Jordyn gave the Heart a little shake, making it swing back and forth on its chain.

"Just say 'Guardians unite' and you'll be transformed into your Guardian states." Katie snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Well that isn't at all dorky." She said sarcastically. Will chuckled.

"Yes, it is dorky, but that's what does the job." She looked at the clock then and gasped. "Goodness, it's getting late. You girls should probably either go home or go someplace to practice a little before it gets dark." The girls exchanged loaded glances, each of them as unwilling to actually prove this theory true as the next. Finally Katie was fed up of being nervous and got to her feet.

"Well, I don't care about the rest of you divas but if Jordyn's willing I'm going to go practice before I head home." The slight insult was enough to get the rest of them to start moving towards the door.

"So, where are we going exactly?" McKenzie voiced the unspoken fact that none of them seemed to know a place big and secret enough for them to practice in. Amber smiled as the elevator doors opened and they piled inside.

"I don't mean to sound cryptic, but guys, I know a place." She said, a mischievous smile creeping across her face. Jordyn gave her a sideways look before inching away from her.

—

It was a half-hour walk to Amber's place and by the time it was over they found themselves in a very seedy area of the city. McKenzie, Katie, Amber, and Jordyn couldn't seem to care less about their surroundings but Chloe kept jumping at shadows and tensing up whenever they passed anyone on the sidewalk. Amber kept laughing at her nervousness as she led them towards an area between buildings that was overgrown with weeds and full of all kinds of junk that had been tossed into its plant-filled abyss.

"This is your _place_, Amber?" Katie asked harshly as she struggled to pick her legs up high enough to be able to walk.

"Pft, of course not." Amber snorted, pushing her hair out of her face. She reached the other end of the lot where a tall brick wall blocked the view of whatever was beyond. She then ducked down under the line of weeds and, after some rustling noises, disappeared. "_This_ is my place!" She yelled from the other side of the wall. McKenzie, who had been the one closest to her, hunted around for the place Amber had gone either through or under the wall. She eventually found it, a big hole in the wall that was hidden by a large oak tree's trunk and a tangle of nettles. She ignored the pricks she got from the nettles as she knelt down and crawled through the hole. Her shirt got snagged on a plant halfway through but after that was sorted out she didn't have any problems wriggling to the other side of the wall. Once she was on the other side she clambered to her feet and looked around, wide-eyed.

The scene in the Secret Garden when Mary stumbled into the garden for the first time reminded McKenzie of this place. Except instead of a garden that had been abandoned for ten years it was a place that had been carefully tended to for a long time. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a big fountain in the middle that was surrounded by a pattern of differently colored flowers—white daffodils, daisies, deep purple hyacinths and others that McKenzie couldn't name—and around the edges were perfectly trimmed wild rose bushes. The river ran along the side of the garden she was facing and at its edge was a swinging bench that had a weeping willow tree on either side of it. It was beautiful.

"Oh, Amber, this is amazing!" She squealed, launching forward to take in as much of the garden as possible before the others got there and they had to start practicing. "When did you find this place?"

"I don't even remember, you know?" Amber said absently as she bent over to pull a weed out of the ground. "I've been coming here ever since I can remember. It hasn't always been like this. It used to be a mess. But once I got older I started taking care of it. It's my quiet place." She threw the weed into the river and then turned back to see the others straightening up from their crawl through the hole. It was a moment before she realized Jordyn hadn't come through yet. Amber went to crouch down at the end of the hole and saw Jordyn kneeling on the other side, staring at the hole like it was about to attack her. "You okay?" Jordyn's eyes snapped to Amber and she nodded, her fear disappearing behind disgust.

"Do you really expect me to crawl through _that_?" She asked, obviously trying to cover up her uneasiness with contempt. "I'm climbing over." She disappeared from view and Amber leaned away from the wall, looked up in time to see Jordyn hefting herself over the top of the wall. She grabbed Jordyn around the legs and helped her down.

"Okie doke, this is my place and I expect you all to be careful here. I don't go trashing your houses so you don't come trashing mine." Amber said, moving towards an empty space of grass by the river where they could practice without getting into too many of the rose bushes. She looked to Jordyn once they were all assembled. "Glow it up, girl, I'm ready to go." Jordyn sighed heavily, holding up the Heart of Kandrakar. She stared deep into the pink crystal and said the two words that would forever change her life.

"Guardians unite."


	3. Chapter 3

_AN – Alright, here's the third chapter. The descriptions in the beginning are awkward (I've never been good at describing clothes) but I did the best I could. I've read it over, this is probably as good as it's going to get. It will take me a while to get the fourth chapter up. Partly because I haven't even started it yet, and partly because I'm going over the first two chapters and working out the kinks in them before I start another chapter. It was only recently that I realized how convoluted some of my sentences are. _I_ wrote them and I can't understand what they're trying to say. Needless to say, some wording is going to change. Anyway, that's all. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own W.I.T.C.H. Try again later, please.**

Jordyn had never felt so . . . complete before. A warm energy was pulsing from the Heart, rushing through her veins until she had a nice buzz going on. She felt powerful and yet protected, like a small child snuggling a stuffed animal during a storm, and the sensation was flowing through her, taking over her senses until all she could think of was the warm pink energy of the Heart. It spread out from her body, encasing her in pink light as her clothes disappeared. Something happened then, the warmth in her body focused into two spots on her back and expanded into wings. Her body became covered in enough clothes that she didn't feel self-conscious anymore. As soon as it had started it was over and she was on her feet again, holding the Heart at her side, looking around at the others.

"Are those _wings_?" Chloe asked askance as she twisted around awkwardly, trying to see the insect-like wings fluttering on her back. Jordyn realized that all of them sported the same wings and that the others had gone through a wardrobe change similar to her own.

McKenzie was already floating a few feet off the ground, giggling excitedly as she learned to gain balance in the air. Her clothes consisted of a dark turquoise top that had a matching shrug over it. Its sleeves were long and went all the way to her hands, where they ended in points that attached to her middle fingers . Her shirt covered her sides and back but left her stomach bare the whole way down to where her tight pink shorts swooped up to swirl just above her hips. She was wearing purple combat boots that went to her knees. The space between her shorts and boots was covered by tights that were striped lime green and turquoise. Her orange, loosely curled hair was pulled into two round buns on the sides. She was gaining height as the rest of them gathered their surroundings, zooming off over the water like she'd been flying her whole life.

Amber was twisting and turning, trying to see all of herself at once it seemed. Her outfit was a lot simpler than McKenzie's. Her top was pink and just barely off the shoulders. There was a swirl on each arm instead of sleeves and the hem was just barely long enough to cover her chest. Her skirt was short and was a wrap-around thing, its dark turquoise material overlapping in the front with one corner sticking down farther than the rest of it. A large wave-like swirl came up on the right side of her belly button, barely clearing it. Her boots were a great deal shorter than McKenzie's but she too had the striped tights covering what parts of her legs that weren't hidden by her boots and skirt. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into two buns, like those top knots people in _Avatar_ wore, and her side-swept bangs were left to hang in her face.

Chloe was standing off in a corner, her arms wrapped around her exposed stomach. She looked more than awkward with her one-strapped belly shirt—the greenish-blue color that McKenzie's was—and her short-on-one-side-long-on-the-other skirt. Again she was sporting the striped tights that everyone seemed to have and her hair had the front pulled back while the rest was loose, wavy and falling to a bit past her shoulder blades. Her glasses were still in place too and every time she looked down at herself she blushed and hugged herself tighter. Jordyn felt kinda bad for her. None of their outfits were particularly modest and Chloe seemed like the kind of girl that liked to keep covered.

"Thank heavens _I_ got pants." Jordyn's attention was pulled to Katie, who was inspecting her clothes with a critical eye. Her top was pink, something she was obviously not happy about. Its neckline was V-shaped and with the swirls it had it looked like a heart. She had loose sleeves that were missing their shoulders and became tight just below her elbows, staying that way the rest of the way down to her wrists. Her pants were incredibly loose and went down over the tops of her boots and the waist was raised in the front to make a semicircle around her navel. Her hair was even longer than normal and pulled back in a single French braid that fell nearly to her knees. It was very Katie. Practical and yet still holding a feminine air. "It could be worse." Katie finally decided, looking over to Jordyn. "It could be yours." Jordyn's eyebrows touched her hairline as she looked down at herself.

"Look at the size of my knock—I mean, wow, I've got cleavage!" Amber said excitedly from near the water, pushing her bigger chest up as she examined it.

"I've never been so well endowed in my life." Chloe muttered, looking down at her own enlarged bust. The others were also murmuring their appreciations of their larger and curvier frames. Jordyn however was still wrapped up in what Katie had said about her clothes. Yes, they weren't what she'd chose to go fighting evil in but still, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Her shirt—if it could be called that—was a halter top that barely covered the essentials. On her arms, almost halfway between her elbows and shoulders, were fingerless gloves that had pink ribbons crisscrossing over them. Thank heavens though, there weren't any bows at the end of said ribbons, they just . . . ended. Her boots were nice (meaning, no high heels) and her legs were sheathed in the striped tights that everyone seemed to have as part of their uniforms. All of that was fine. No, it was the _skirt_ that was a problem. It was long, reaching a little above her ankles, and had a slit up one side that went all the way to her hip, leaving just a couple inches of material holding it together. It was the same turquoise color as the ribbon that, starting at the bottom of her shirt, crisscrossed around her torso until it tied in a knot on the hip that the slit was on, leaving its ends trailing down to her knees. There was just no way she could fight in something like this.

"That's gonna be a problem." Katie said, indicating the skirt. Apparently she'd been thinking along the same lines as Jordyn. The girl in question spun around a bit, getting a better view of the skirt. It wasn't actually so bad, once she thought about it. It was just short enough to not be a danger in the tripping area and it had a slit that would help with mobility. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad . . . but it was still a skirt, damn it, and she didn't _want_ a skirt. At least the majority of her clothes weren't _pink_. Wait, her hair! Her hair was one thing she couldn't have changing with her body. She dashed to the fountain and stared long and hard at her reflection, relieved that her hair was still short and spiky, though it was missing the blue tips it usually had. Her piercings had also miraculously disappeared.

"Shouldn't we get practicing? I mean, that is what we came here for." Chloe said softly from the background, her eyes glued to the sinking sun.

"I think McKenzie's already set." Katie said dryly as McKenzie flew overhead, doing flips and spins like a professional figure skater or something. Amber giggled.

"Well, that's great for her, but I for one want to be able to do more than mix cocktails when I'm in a jam." Chloe let out a strained chuckle, obviously just as opposed to using her element now as she had been back at the apartment.

"Fine, whatever, just do what you want." Jordyn said, waving her hand absently as she tried to figure out how to get herself off the ground without serious injury. Instantly she shot into the air, flipping upside down as she went. "_AH!_" She screamed as she rocketed into the air, taken completely by surprise at the sudden distance between her and the ground. Jordyn liked heights just as much as the next girl but this was ridiculous. Finally she managed to stabilize her twirling. Unfortunately she couldn't figure out how to get herself in a position that was not upside down. If Jordyn didn't have her tights on she'd be flashing the whole population of Heatherfield. She needed to get right side up soon or she would get sick . . .

"How do I turn this off?" Katie asked Chloe uneasily as the grass at her feet started crawling up her legs, as if it were a puppy trying to jump up on her. Chloe shrugged, trying not to think anything that might start a fire. She wasn't ready for that at all and would freak out if her hands caught fire again. "Chloe!" Katie yelped, her fear only adding to the amount of grass creeping up her.

"Just calm down, I'm sure freaking out is just making it worse." Chloe said quietly as she chewed a nail nervously, trying to put her advice into practice so she wouldn't catch fire.

"Uh, yeah, easier said that done." Katie said as she shot into the air, far enough up that the still growing grass couldn't reach her. "Whoa, I'm in the air—there's no ground under my feet, I am _in_ the air."

"Isn' this cool?" McKenzie crowed as she shot by, far above the place Jordyn was currently trying to right herself. "I've never felt so alive in my whole life!" She spun around, her arms creating a whirlwind that Jordyn was accidentally sucked into.

"I've never felt so _sick_ in my life!" She shrieked as she tried to get enough control over her wings to leave the mini-tornado. "_Put me down!_"

"Oops." McKenzie cringed as she stopped spinning, leaving Jordyn to fall to the ground with a crash.

"Ow," she groaned weakly.

"Oops again," McKenzie called from where she hovered, trying to figure out how to land as she watched Jordyn start to slowly show signs of life again. She hadn't meant to hurt Jordyn, she hadn't even meant to get her caught up in that whirlwind. She hadn't been meaning to _make_ a whirlwind in the first place. McKenzie paused in her flying to think about the non-flying aspects of her new position. Being the Air Guardian meant she could control air, duh. Which meant she could do everything from create a cool breeze on a hot day to make tornadoes that could rip entire cities up. Her stomach dropped a bit as she realized that she would have to practice her powers just like everyone else. Which would mean she'd have to get down. McKenzie had originally thought that landing would be as easy as getting into the air in the first place but now that she was a good eighty meters off the ground, staring down at it, she wasn't so sure. "Um, guys?" She called uncertainly. "How am I going to get down?" Jordyn pushed herself up on her elbows, glaring up at the redhead.

"_Crash!_" She yelled up at her. "Here, I'll come up and help you out!" McKenzie giggled nervously but started flying down towards the ground, her face scrunched up and ready for impact. She slowed down a bit once she got about three feet off the ground and then she couldn't bring herself to get her wings to stop beating. Chloe ended up having to go over and pull her the rest of the way down.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." She muttered once her feet touched down again.

"Well, _yippee_ for you," Jordyn snapped as she pushed herself to her feet, "but I for one would have liked it much better if you'd crash landed. I think I cracked a rib or two." She rubbed her side gingerly, wishing she hadn't shot so far up into the air earlier.

"Are we going to _have_ to fly?" Amber asked fearfully, staring up at the place Jordyn had fallen from. "I hate heights."

"Join the _frickin_' club. I just became the president." Jordyn growled.

"Well, did we all get at least some practice in?" Chloe asked, hoping that by doing so she wouldn't have to admit she hadn't created so much as one solitary spark. Everyone nodded and Jordyn held up the Heart, pulling its power back into the crystal. There was a flash and everyone was in the clothes they'd come in. Chloe reveled in the new cover her stomach had gained. Jordyn felt the warmth of the Heart seep out of her body and she missed it, hugging herself lightly as a sudden chill fell over her.

"I guess we should all get going." Amber muttered softly, her eyes flicking toward the sun, which was quickly sinking below the horizon. They all made noises of agreement and hurried to climb through the hole in the wall, Jordyn once again scaling the wall rather than going through the hole.

They were well on their way home when Amber realized that she wasn't carrying the purse she'd brought with her. Katie let out a sarcastic remark about pickpockets and Amber not noticing the absence of a purse that must have weighed at least twenty pounds, but allowed herself to be dragged back to the garden, where Amber was sure she must have left it. They were halfway there when a bright light from an alley they were passing caught their attention. McKenzie's eyes grew wide as they peered into the alley.

"_That_ can't be part of the original blueprints." Amber said with a short chuckle as they ducked into the alley. Jordyn frowned at the swirling disk of blue light. There was something tugging at her memory, telling her that this was a familiar sight though she was absolutely positive she'd never seen anything like _this_ in her life. She felt a shift in her clothes and looked down to see the Heart glowing through the fabric of her jeans' pocket. She pulled the crystal out, staring at it as its glow brightened.

"You think this is one of those portal thingies Mrs. Olsen was talking about?" McKenzie asked, eyes wide. Jordyn nodded absently.

"Must be . . ." It came out in a breathless whisper as she clutched the Heart tight. "Well, Grandma said we were supposed to close them so I guess . . ." She trailed off again as Amber stepped around her to get a better look at it.

"Oh, c'mon, I _know_ you guys wanna check it out!" Katie rolled her eyes as Amber turned around to face them. She looked excited—too excited—and that sparkle in her eyes made Katie nervous. She didn't like that look.

"What d'ya mean?" She asked sharply, crossing her arms under her chest. Amber gestured first to them and then to the portal. Katie instantly understood what she meant. "Oh _no_, I'm not gonna hop into some freaky glowy circle on the wall. _No_—not gonna happen." McKenzie's face lit up, however, and soon she was squealing, jumping up on the balls of her feet like she was about to take flight again.

"Could we please? It'd be brilliant!" She clasped her hands together as she looked to Jordyn for the go ahead. Katie rolled her eyes. Just great. All she'd wanted to do tonight was go home and crash, not visit some alien planet with three people she barely knew and one that was still freaking about about her newly discovered pyro powers. Poor Chloe, she didn't need this crap—not now, not ever.

"_No_," Katie snapped peevishly, "it'd be stupid." She put on a mocking impression of McKenzie's accent which earned her a hurt glare from the redhead. She ignored it. One little girl's snubbed feelings were more than worth it to get Chloe home before she had a breakdown. "Now let's close this baby up and get outta here." Katie looked to Jordyn, hoping the younger girl would be on her side.

"I dunno," she said quietly, her eyes riveted to the portal's glow like it was hypnotizing her. "Maybe we should see what's on the other side." Katie scoffed, rolling her eyes. Great, she'd lost her. Chloe looked like she was about to pass out and here the rest of them were, totally psyched about setting foot in a planet so dangerous it had to be quarantined from the rest of the _universe_! Oh yeah, she'd been stuck with a bunch of rocket scientists. They'd make Einstein jealous, they would. Universities everywhere would clamor for their brains, preserved in jars, when they died.

"So are we going?" McKenzie was bouncing again. Chloe made a strangled noise and Katie put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. It didn't seem to help much.

"Sure, why not?" There went Katie's plans for the night. "C'mon, everyone in." Jordyn motioned for them to follow her as she cautiously crept toward the portal.

"Can we just go home?" Katie asked loudly. Jordyn shot her a dirty look, crossing her arms stubbornly under her chest.

"Scared?" Katie's hand slipped to Chloe's and she held on tight as they followed their illustrious leader into the not-so-great unknown.

—

"There are no ifs, ands, or friggin' _buts_ about this, Goth Girl, I am _going to kill you._" As she growled this Katie was struck in the face by a low-hanging branch and sent stumbling back a foot or two. Jordyn sighed heavily, scowling.

"That's the tenth time you've said that in the last five minutes." She reminded dryly. Amber rolled her eyes. Katie was being a _serious_ wet blanket. This place was beautiful—a gorgeous lush forest with rich underbrush and a bright, bright blue sky. It was the daydream material of any tree hugger on Earth and Amber was standing smack bang in the middle of it! She wished she had a camera to capture it forever on film. And she hated cameras. All buttons and zoom lenses—Amber could never tell which way was up with those things. And the flash never worked when it needed to, damn it.

"Shut up!" Amber hissed when Katie opened her mouth to retort. She was shot a dirty look for her efforts but Amber ignored it. "Does anyone else get the feeling we're being watched?" They all skidded to a stop and looked around warily. Katie made a hissing noise in which Amber heard the words "Jordyn" and "_kill_ you" rather distinctly. Okay, nothing new there.

There _was_ something watching them. Amber had grown up knowing how to tell when someone was watching her—she was very sensitive to that kind of thing. And every red alert in her body was sounding, telling her that someone or something had its eyes on her. Her head whipped around as she tried to catch whatever it was. There! She could hear something crashing through the underbrush.

"Get down!" Amber grabbed Jordyn and McKenzie by their collars and shoved them into the trunk of a nearby tree, pushing them down so they were hidden in the underbrush. Katie and Chloe followed and together they huddled in the ferns, hearts pounding in their ears.

Something was crashing through the forest, coming closer to them with every step. Chloe whimpered quietly and Katie clapped a hand over her mouth as they all held their breath. Amber was pretty sure they were about to die. Just her luck. She spent her whole life living on the edge and she ended up getting killed on some strange planet just because she couldn't say no to having an adventure. She hadn't even kissed a boy yet! There was a loud snap—like a metal trap springing—and someone screamed. Chloe whimpered, digging her nails into Katie's arm.

"Torin!" Amber's whole body tensed as a boy's voice broke the silence in a panicked shout. "Just leave it, I'll be fine!" The boy was somewhere nearby. Amber, who was the closest to the edge of the trunk, peered carefully around the tree they were huddled behind.

"But—"

"No buts, just go!" A few feet behind them were two boys. One was tall and gangly and blond and the other was short and bulky and was bald with blue skin. The blue one had his leg caught in what looked like a bear trap. Amber was almost sick at the sight of his mangled leg. Of course she'd seen worse in her time but—"He's coming with the soldiers, alright? Just take it and go." The blue boy shoved a lumpy bag into the blond boy's arms and then pushed him away.

"I'll come back, okay?" The blond boy's legs started to shift away from the blue boy though he obviously wanted to stay by his friend's side.

"Just go!" Amber clambered to her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jordyn hissed, hand shooting out to grab her wrist. Amber looked down at her and tugged on her grip.

"They need help. Something's after them. We're supposed to be helping people, right?" Something big was crashing through the forest, roaring, and the sound of it set Amber's teeth on edge. Jordyn peeked around the tree. She took one look at the boys and sighed heavily, springing to her feet as well.

"C'mon," she grumbled. Amber darted out from behind the tree.

"Over here!" She yelled to the blond boy, waving her arms over her head as she jumped up and down. "Come on, this way!" The blond boy scowled at her for a moment before dashing toward her so fast Amber was sure he'd barrel right into her. Jordyn grabbed his sleeve at the last minute, pulling him along in the direction they'd come.

"Let's _go_, guys!" She growled as she tugged the boy along through the forest.

"Who _are_ you guys?" He yelled indignantly, struggling against Jordyn's grip on his sleeve.

"We're your guardian angels, _doofus_." The black-haired girl snapped. Amber and McKenzie both let out barks of laughter at that as they ducked under a low hanging branch. "Now get your rear in gear. That thing you're running from sounds neither cuddly nor fluffy."

"_Duh_!" The boy yelled so loud his voice cracked. "Where have you been _living_, under a rock?"

"Close enough." Jordyn snapped as they finally came to the portal. "C'mon, it won't follow us to Earth, will it?" Amber was going to say that if they could go to Earth, the thing chasing behind them probably could too, but Jordyn plowed into the portal and with a screech of "Geronimo!" Amber followed.

McKenzie landed flat on her back so hard the wind was knocked out of her. She stared up at the sky overhead for a moment before there was a loud yell and Amber and Chloe landed on top of her.

"Off, please." McKenzie grunted as she pushed them out of the way. They all scrambled to their feet and quickly dodged as Jordyn and Katie came flying out of the portal like it was spitting them out. Then the portal flashed and the boy was thrown from it, hitting the alley's opposite wall with a sharp crack, sliding to the ground unconscious.

"Well _that's_ new." McKenzie said as she stared down at the boy. Jordyn was about to bite out a sarcastic comment but at that moment a . . . thing started to crawl out of the portal. "Thing" was really the best way any of the girls could describe it. It must have been what was chasing them through the forest. It looked like . . . oh, if Katie had to pick an animal it looked the most like it would have to be a hairy spider of some kind, but with a dragon-like head and great, leathery wings that had finger-like claws where they bent. It was the kind of creepy crawly that kids had nightmares about and were convinced lived under their beds. But it was huge, at least the size of a small elephant and with teeth that looked so sharp Katie was half-wondering if she could get cut just by looking at them.

"Whoa, there, Ugly!" Amber yelled, startled as she jumped away from the portal. "Ugly" as she'd christened it did not appreciate the comment and roared angrily, reaching for the boy. "Oh no you don't, buster." She jumped in front of it, pulling a small canister of pepper spray out of her pocket, and she sprayed it in the eyes once it was close enough. It yowled in pain and reeled backwards, knocking into a wall as its hand/wing things covered its eyes. "Hey, look at that! It works on creepers _and_ crawlies." Jordyn rolled her eyes, trying to figure out what to do. Grabbing the boy and running seemed to be the best idea, especially since the thing was still fighting the pain of Amber's pepper spray.

"Someone help me get him up," Jordyn grunted as she pulled one of the boy's arms around her shoulders. Katie grabbed his other arm and they took off down the road as fast as they dared, not wanting to look _too_ suspicious. After all, a group of flustered looking girls running down the sidewalk holding an unconscious boy was suspicious.

"Now if he'd been drunk this would be just like every other Saturday night I've had." Amber said dryly as they came to Jordyn's house, which was the closest of their homes to the alley. Jordyn shot the dark girl a questioning look but didn't comment as she fished the keys her grandmother had given her earlier out of her pocket.

"Well, this is my place, the living room is this way." She grunted, awkwardly unlocking the door and pushing it open. "Grandma!" She called as she and Katie struggled to drag the boy into the living room. "We've got company." They finally reached the living room and Jordyn's back screamed relief as she and Katie dumped the boy onto the couch.

"Good heavens!" Will half-yelled when she came in to see the girls situating an unconscious boy on the couch.

"Yeah, something like that." Jordyn muttered as she watched her grandmother flutter around the boy. He was still out cold. If that crack when he hit the wall was any indication, she'd say he'd hit his head pretty hard.

"Girls, what happened?" There was a long, drawn out silence. McKenzie was the only one willing to give up the information.

"A weird portal thing opened in an alley and he and some monster came out. Amber got the monster with her pepper spray and we decided to bring him here." She said as she stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a good look at what was going on. McKenzie thought it would be best not to mention that they'd gone through the portal before the boy and monster came out. That would just make them look stupid.

McKenzie'd never seen anything like the boy before. He was interesting. He was their first contact with Meridian! She couldn't wait for him to wake up so they could talk to him. McKenzie wondered what his name was. He sure was cute . . .

"Oh, good, he's coming around." Sure enough the boy was stirring on the couch. He blinked blearily up at the group surrounding him and then, once the situation seemed to sink in, he jerked back, scrambling to sit up straight. Jordyn watched, leaning on the arm of the couch as his pale blue eyes swept over the room. He looked a bit odd, now that she thought about it. He had lime green stripes cutting from under his jaw to the middle of his cheeks on each side of his face and three darker green dots above his left eyebrow. There was also something about him she couldn't put her finger on—other than the stripes obviously—but whatever it was, it made him look ever so slightly inhuman.

"Hello there, dear, you gave us quite a scare." Will said cheerily as she held out a glass of water for the boy. "You aren't from around here are you?"

"Who are you? Where am I?" He tried to get farther from Will before realizing it just wasn't happening. McKenzie giggled at his floundering and he glowered at her.

"Calm down, you're with friends. My name is Will Olsen and you're on Earth." She pushed the water at him. Amber, who was leaning on the back of the couch, smiled at him.

"We saved you from that monster-thingie. You're hot, you know that?" Jordyn rolled her eyes and Chloe's head fell to her hand. Of all the things . . .

"I have a fever?" Jordyn snorted derisively as his hand flew up to his forehead.

"She means you're visually appealing, sexy, attractive. It's an opinion that not all in this room share." Jordyn said from where she stood at the other end of the couch, half-sitting on the arm. Her tone made it more than clear that she was one of those in the room that didn't share Amber's opinion. "Sheesh, man, where'd you get those tats?" He frowned at her like he'd never seen anything quite as baffling as a thirteen year old girl.

"_What?_" Will waved away his question.

"Just drink this, we'll explain things in a moment." He chugged the water like he hadn't had anything to drink in a year and then gave back the glass. "Now, why don't you tell us your name?"

"Torin of Meridian, who are you?" The girls blinked blankly and were silent for a moment before Amber spoke up.

"Yep, we got a live one."

—

"So, he escaped to Earth?" Terra nodded.

"I apologize, Princess, I allowed his trickery to get the better of me. I wasn't expecting him to be so . . . powerful." The young woman's nails rapped slowly on her throne's armrest as her features creased in thought. She hadn't been expecting her brother to be powerful either. The Heart's power was hers by birthright but obviously Torin had gotten a slice of the genes that made her witchcraft possible. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to evade Terra's ambush so easily. Perhaps she had underestimated Torin's abilities . . .

"Nevertheless it is a mistake that will not be repeated." Terra nodded. "Well, it seems that the Veil had decided to start tearing for me once again. Good," her eyes flicked to a guard near the door. "You there," he jumped, "go to the dungeons and get a Passling, any one will do." He nodded and quickly left. "Terra, I do hope you're ready to go hunting tonight." The older man smiled wickedly, revealing sharpening teeth and a forked tongue.

"Of courssse, Princesss." Her full lips spread in a wicked smile.

"Feel free to treat yourself to Passling meat once you've found a portal." Terra nodded obediently.

"Yesss, misstresss."

—

"Are you kidding me?" Torin was sitting up now, the glass of water empty though he was still hanging tightly onto it like a lifeline or something. "There hasn't been travel between the dimensions in years. Ever since the Veil came up it's been impossible."

"The Veil's been starting to rip, babe." Amber chirped. She was still hanging on the back of the couch, smiling flirtatiously at the older boy. Her antics were met with a slightly startled look from Torin. Then he seemed to realize what she was doing and he scowled at her.

"Do girls always talk down on boys here? Or is it just you?" Amber's eyes narrowed viciously and her lips pressed into a flat line. Oh, he was _so_ not in her good books anymore.

"Oh no, we only talk down on the ones that are _complete_ idiots." Torin frowned but didn't say anything as Katie smacked Amber upside the head.

"You _ditz,_ he's the guy that's gonna be crashing on one of our couches until another portal opens up." The darker girl's eyebrows shot up. Amber could handle living with her dad and his "friends" but she heavily doubted anyone else could. And she sure as heck wasn't going to let a perfect stranger see into her personal life. Amber was willing to drag him out of his dimension, but _not_ into her home life.

"He's not staying at my place." She said quickly, looking slightly panicked. Yeah, so not happening.

"Not mine either." Katie quickly piped up. She didn't want anyone to see just exactly how dysfunctional her family was, especially some strange boy from another dimension.

"I can't have him, my family would flip." McKenzie added. Chloe and Jordyn sized each other up, wondering which of them would be able to say "he's not staying with me" faster.

"Not me!" Chloe yelped in a high pitch, half-afraid that Jordyn would beat her up for saddling her with a strange house guest. Which, by the way the older girl was glowering at her, probably wasn't too far off the mark.

"Oh, that's fine, Jordyn." Will said cheerily. "It'll be easier for him to stay with us. Less questions." Jordyn groaned, her whole upper body slumping over the arm of the couch. She said something but it was muffled by the couch's cushion. "What was that dear?" She shot up faster than anyone thought she'd be able to and thrust an accusing finger at Torin.

"He is _not_ staying in my room!" She yelled rather angrily. Yeah, she knew she was being a bit brattish but she wasn't sharing her room with some weirdo boy that was obviously around her age and therefore full of judgment-blurring hormones. Nu-uh.

"Of course not, we've got a guest room that hasn't seen much use lately." Jordyn's mutter of, "of _course_ we do," was ignored. "So you all can head on home, I'm sure your parents are all worried about you."

"Unlikely," Amber and Katie said at the same time. They shot each other questioning looks before being the first ones to leave. The door slammed behind Katie and the rest exchanged awkward glances, none of them sure which of them could leave next without being considered rude or cowardly for wanting to avoid a fight. Chloe worried her lip with her teeth as she reluctantly met Jordyn's sharp gaze.

"_I'm_ not leaving next, I live here." She bit out. The dark teen turned and stomped out of the room, muttering about alien invasions, and McKenzie knew that if they stayed they'd get dragged into eating dinner. Her family would worry if she stayed out too much later. She did have a curfew after all.

"Chloe, why don't we walk home together?" She suggested brightly as she bounced towards the door. "I think my family's restaurant is on your way."

"Uh," Chloe's eyes flicked between the three people still clustered around the couch, "yeah." She followed McKenzie out in a hurry. All was silent for a grand total of two seconds before Jordyn reached the end of her very short tether and exploded, her yell echoing down the hall.

"_What the hell, Grandma?_" She shouted as she stomped back into the room. "There's _no way_ I'm sharing a house with that," she gestured to Torin, "freak of nature. Who knows where the hell he's been!"

"Hey!" He shouted, indignant. Jordyn plowed on, ignoring him.

"You expect us to let him stay here? What if he's one of the bad guys or something? How can you even tell the difference?" Torin had had enough. He sprang to his feet, eyes flashing like blue fire as he glowered at her. Jordyn didn't like that he had at least a half-head on her in height as she matched his silent challenge with stiff and defiant posture.

"_Are you really that stupid?_" He yelled loudly, ignoring how dangerously close to cracking his pubescent voice came. "You think I wouldn't have already attacked you if I was a bad guy? Do you have any idea how easy that would have been for me?" Jordyn's face flushed bright red and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. The Heart burned in her pocket, probably reacting to her anger.

"You think I know everything there is to know about this whole mess?" She roared angrily. "I just found out about this thing today!"

"Obviously!" He snapped. "Because you're acting like a toddler about this situation. Do you even have any idea what we've been through on our side of the Veil? Well, let me tell you, it's not a bed of roses!" Will got up off the couch, hurrying over to step between the angry teens, placing a hand on their shoulders.

"Children, please, don't fight about this." Jordyn looked like she sorely wanted to punch Torin. "Jordyn, why don't you go get the guest room ready?" She jerked her head in an approximation of a nod and stormed off. "Use the bedding from the linen closet, okay?" She heard Will yell after her. Jordyn growled and threw the closet door open. It hit the wall with a bang and she wrenched the blankets and sheets out roughly, stacking a pillow on top and shoving the door shut with another snap.

—

Amber was not stupid. Of course the level of her IQ could be and had been questioned many times over the course of her academic career. Starting off in kindergarten when she'd had to take special lessons during lunch to learn her colors to the extra math tutoring she was currently taking every Wednesday and Friday after school; she hadn't exactly been a straight A student . . . ever. However, she was _not_ a complete idiot. Most people would take a look at her grades (mostly D's and F's) and think she wouldn't know how to do something as simple as open her locker without help. Not so.

She got out of the elevator and started down the hall her family's apartment was on and she knew right off she was not going to be having a nice night. From where she was she could see smoke curling out from under the door at the end of the hall, a sure sign that her father's friends were over. What they smoked she had never asked (and honestly didn't want to know) but it always clogged the air when they visited and she liked to keep in her room with the window open and the door shut whenever they stopped by. So she approached the door with caution, pulling her keys out of her purse (she'd gone back to the park to get it after leaving Jordyn's place) with a growing knot in her stomach.

"Amber, is that you?" Her father called from the living room when the door opened with a creak. She coughed loudly, furiously fanning at the smoke curling around her head.

"Yeah, Daddy, it's me." She yelled as she slammed the door shut and stuffed her keys back into her purse.

"Good, we need some beer from the fridge." She nodded absently. She was already on her way toward the kitchen, having known what he would ask for the second he knew she was home. Amber went past the living room entrance to her room, tossed her purse onto her bed and shut the door before going into the kitchen and grabbing a case of beer out of the fridge. She took the bag of corn chips on the counter while she was at it, knowing they'd probably be running out soon.

"Here you go," she said as she dumped the food onto the round table that her father and several of his friends were playing poker around. Her father patted her head patronizingly, reaching for the chips.

"Good girl," he grunted. Amber nodded, running a hand through her hair, and dodged the large hand of one of her father's friends, Rodger, when he tried to goose her on her way out. "We're going on a job after this game." He called after her. She paused halfway down the hall to her room.

"Am I coming along?" She asked loudly. Sometimes if he needed a lookout or an extra pair of hands he would let her tag along. Amber would never tell a soul but she actually enjoyed those times. It was just about the only time she ever spent with her father anymore.

"Nah, just make sure to keep the damn door locked this time." She nodded. The last time she'd forgotten to lock the door after he and his friends left hadn't ended so well.

"Alright Daddy."

The next morning dawned bright and way too clear for Amber. She lay in bed for a couple minutes, trying to find the will to get up when all she wanted was to go back to sleep, before finally rolling awkwardly off her mattress and onto the floor. She groaned as she scrambled to her feet, quickly untangling herself from her blankets. Amber had waited up last night until after her father and his friends had left for their job and had taken a shower so all she had to do was get dressed and hurriedly brush her teeth and hair before creeping out of the apartment. She made sure to leave a note on the fridge telling her father where he could find the food she'd made up earlier that week and then took off for school. Amber knew better than to wake him up this early after a night out with his posse. After all, Amber was not stupid.

—

Katie was in a sour mood long before she ran into Jordyn, literally. Her parents had woken her up a little after five with their fighting and no matter how hard she'd tried she hadn't been able to get to sleep again after that. Though she loathed to admit it even years of listening to them throw insults and curses around the apartment like Hackey Sacks she still got uneasy listening to them do it. And it wasn't like she'd gone to bed early the night before or anything. She'd laid in bed for hours trying to sleep but unable to with all the thoughts whirling through her mind.

It seemed _beyond_ nuts what Chloe's grandma and her friends had told them. Guardians? Yeah, right. There was just no way that she could be the protector of anything. How could she save a world if she couldn't even save her parents' failing marriage? They couldn't honestly expect her to do this. After all, she was just a failure. She didn't have a single thing to show for her fourteen years of life except a thick file in the principal's office and a bad reputation. She couldn't possibly be part of this whole amazing thing. It was too far above her. _Way_ over her head. Like, _that's the sound of responsibility flying over Katie's head at Mach 3_. Her father was a drunk, her mother was probably close to going that way too, she got awful grades, snapped at anyone that looked at her wrong, and had already been arrested four times in the past three years. They must have picked the wrong girl for this. There had to be a mistake. Yeah, that was it. There was a girl out there somewhere else that was currently freaking out because she could make grass grow up her sneakers until she looked like a Chia Pet. Because there was no way that she, Katarina Martinez, could be some world's savior. Just—_no_.

And those other girls . . . there was no way they'd ever understand her. They had their perfect little lives, all smiles and glitter and happy families. Ugh. They didn't know what she was like, why she was the way she was. Their minds couldn't possibly comprehend her home life. Or rather, lack thereof. There was no way they knew what it was like to have parents that hated each other, a father that thought she was a waste of space, a mother that spent too much time worrying over her when there were more important things to worry about. They didn't know what it felt like to be sure they had nothing in the world but themselves to rely on. No, this just wouldn't work. Did Mrs. Lair or Mrs. Olsen realize how different they all were?

"Hey, Katie, you okay?" She looked around to see Chloe leaning against the archway in front of the school's main walkway. Katie scowled, pushing her dark thoughts away roughly.

"Of course I am, _idiot_." She said roughly as she came to stand next to her only friend. Chloe pursed her lips at Katie's rude greeting, clearly stung.

"No need to snap," she reproached softly, gripping her backpack's strap absently. Katie's scowl softened a bit but she still looked incredibly disagreeable. Chloe had more than enough experience with her to let something like an insult get to her. She knew that Katie usually got mad and snappy when she was upset about something. Thankfully though, Chloe let the matter drop for the moment, moving on to a topic of conversation that was safer. "Anyway, I was talking to Grandma last night. She says I don't have to worry about, you know, my problem with fire. I can wait for it to come to me." Katie scoffed and crossed her arms under her chest.

"Yeah, right, and what happens when we need you in a fight? They're not gonna be so understanding then." Chloe's eyes welled with tears and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. Katie felt bad for a minute. She shouldn't have taken her barb so seriously, obviously Chloe was more upset about this than she'd thought.

"What's wrong with you? I thought you were okay with this." Her nails dug into her palms. Chloe always knew when something was wrong and she hated it. Why did she have to be so observant? Still . . . she didn't understand. Sure, she knew what it was like to have a whacked up family but she didn't know what Katie was living with at home, not exactly.

"I'm _fine_." She snapped. "I've just been up since, like, three in the morning." Chloe pressed her lips together and didn't say anything. "Ugh, forget about it. I gotta get to homeroom." The blonde nodded and let Katie push past her.

Katie stalked into school with a heavy scowl, not noticing how many younger students jumped out of her way in order to avoid her wrath. The student body knew from experience better than to test Katie's temper. Of course that would be excepting the newest addition to the student body, who slammed into Katie on her way to her locker. Katie actually stumbled back a few steps before whirling around to face Jordyn, who was already halfway down the hall and not at all looking like she was going to apologize.

"_Hey_! Goth-Freak! I believe you owe me an apology!" Jordyn froze and slowly turned to face Katie. She was scowling heavily, gripping the strap of her bag tightly.

"_Excuse me?_" Their portion of the hall went rather quiet. Fifth and sixth graders watched wide-eyed as the two girls glowered at each other. Katie absently noted that Jordyn had circles starting to appear under her eyes. Had Goth Girl gotten as much of a crappy night's sleep last night as she had? "There is no _way_ I'm giving you an apology because you were too stupid to see me coming." Even though it seemed impossible the hall got even quieter. Katie clenched her jaw so hard to keep from yelling that she was sure she cracked some teeth.

"Are you kidding me?" Her voice was like ice. A couple fifth grade boys ducked into the room nearest them only to realize it was the girls' bathroom and quickly come scurrying out. They seemed to think that Katie was the worse of two evils because they appeared to deeply regret coming out of hiding. "You think because you're new you can get away with talking to me like that?" Jordyn's eyes flashed angrily. Katie knew a girl with a spine when she saw one and would have liked Jordyn's backbone if she wasn't so angry with her. "So say sorry," she stalked over to Jordyn, grabbing her by her jacket and shoving her into the nearest available locker, "or you'll _be_ sorry." Jordyn was younger than Katie so she should have been able to pull this off, but Katie didn't take into account the fact that Jordyn was a good half-head taller than her.

"Don't pull that crap with me." She grunted, pushing Katie off her so hard she hit the opposite wall of the hallway. "You're just mad about yesterday. 'Cause someone other than _you_ got to make a decision about something." Katie let out a scoff of derisive laughter.

"Ha! I'm not the _idiot_ that got us stuck in the middle of nowhere." She growled in a low tone as soon as Jordyn was close enough to hear. "Chloe and I didn't want to go anywhere near that freakazoid portal thing and you dragged us along for the ride!"

It soon dissolved into a whirlwind of insults, curses, and punches. The students very quickly cleared the hall, not wanting to get caught in the middle of anything, and someone must have raised the alarm because a few minutes later a group of teachers converged on the two girls, trying to pry them apart. When Mr. Applegate and Ms. Irving finally managed to pull them off of each other Jordyn was sporting a black eye and bloody lip and Katie had spectacular bruises blossoming on her jaw and cheekbone. Needless to say, when Principal Wuebber was finally able to see them, he was less than amused.

"Fighting on your second day, Miss Olsen?" He said dryly when Jordyn and Katie sat across the desk from him with resigned plops. "Not that I'm surprised that it's with you, Miss Martinez." Katie huffed, crossing her arms under her chest. "I believe you were here yesterday for similar reasons." He sighed, taking off his glasses to wipe them on his tie. "What was it this time?" Neither of the girls spoke, choosing, instead, to glower each other. "Girls, please, I'm going to have to call your parents in if we can't work this out on our—"

"It was just a misunderstanding. I, uh, should have said sorry for bumping into Jordyn." Katie said quickly. Jordyn frowned over at her, shocked. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Principal Wuebber raised a dubious eyebrow.

"Oh?" She nodded her head fervently, eyes wide. Something was wrong, that much Jordyn could see. No one should be that nervous about their parents finding out they got into a fight—especially if Katie got into fights as often as Jordyn thought she did. Jordyn herself didn't really care if her grandparents found out about this. They could ground her or something; it wasn't like she _actually_ had a life here. There was nothing they could possibly take away from her to punish her for getting into a fight.

"Girls, I'm going to assign you to a session with the school counselor and two weeks' detention. Hopefully this will keep you from fighting in the future. Please, see the secretary on your way out for late passes." He rubbed his temple tiredly as Jordyn and Katie got up. Jordyn wondered if that vein throbbing in his forehead was the result of his career choice, or if it had been there before he became this school's principal.


End file.
